Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa means God. So God, this word, does not explain the nomenclature of God. Now this Kṛṣṇa is Sanskrit word, and it conveys the full meaning of God. Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. All-attractive means He is full of all opulences. In this world we are attracted by one who is very rich, we are attracted by one who is very famous, we are attracted by one who is very highly educated, we are attracted by someone who is very beautiful. Similarly, these are features of attraction. And when all these attractions are reposed in one place without any rivalry, He is God. That is the conception of God. So Kṛṣṇa means all these six opulences in fullness together. That is the full definition of God.
Conception (Conv. 1968 - 1975)
Expressions researched:
"concept"
|"conception"
|"conceptions"
|"concepts"
|"conceptual"
|"conceptualization"
|"conceptualize"
|"conceptually"
Notes from the compiler:
VedaBase query: concept* not "vedic concept*" not "material concept*" not "bodily concept*
Conversations and Morning Walks
1968 Conversations and Morning Walks
Interview -- February 1, 1968, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: I have already told that religion means searching after God, every religion. The process may be different. The audience may be different. Just like in Christianity there is conception of God, "God created this world." So this is a fact. We also say. But we say in very lucid explanation from the Vedas. We don't stop, simply saying, "God created," but how created, how things developed, these descriptions are there in the Vedic literature. That is the difference. Otherwise there is no difference of opinion. The Christians accept God created this world; the Jewish religion, they also accept God created this world; the Muslims they also accept God created this world; we also accept God created this world. So "God is the supreme; God is great," that is accepted by everyone. But the only difference is that we give details so that modern mind, who are advanced in education and scientific knowledge, they can understand, whereas others, they cannot give in detail. Therefore they are deviating gradually because the modern, advanced, educated persons they want to know how God created this world, and that description is lacking. But we can give that. That is the difference. Otherwise the primary principle, to understand God—God is great; we are small, tiny; we are subordinate; we are maintained by God—this idea is everywhere.
Interview -- March 9, 1968, San Francisco:
Prabhupāda: The basis of this teaching is Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. I have already published my book, this Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. This book is not new. It is very old book, at least five thousand years old, and it is very widely read all over the world. In your country I have seen there are about more than twenty-five different editions, English. Similarly, there is in German language, in England, in Japan. Everywhere, all over the country this book is very widely known, Bhagavad-gītā. In other words, this is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The speaker of this book is Lord Kṛṣṇa, and the subject matter of this book is what is our relationship with God. Then, after understanding what is our relationship with God, we can work accordingly. Just like you are citizen of America, you have got a particular relationship with the state, and you are expected to work according to that relationship, and then you are good citizen, you are law-abiding citizen, and state gives your all protection, and you can improve to the highest perfectional stage. Similarly, if we know our relationship with God, whom we call Kṛṣṇa... Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive, and that is the perfect name of God. Unless God is all-attractive, he cannot be God. God cannot be Hindus' God or Christians' God or Jews' God or Mohammedans' God. No. God is for everyone, and He is all-attractive. He is fully opulent. He is fully in knowledge, perfect in knowledge, perfect in beauty, perfect in renunciation, perfect in fame, perfect in strength. In this way He is all attractive. So we must know our relationship with God. That is the first subject matter of this book, Bhagavad-gītā As It Is. Then if we understand our relationship, we can act accordingly. At the present moment we are, some of us declining God. "There is no God." Some of them have little conception of God, "God is great," but they do not try to understand what is actual relationship with God.
Interview -- March 9, 1968, San Francisco:
Prabhupāda: I have not come to earn money from your country, but I have come to your country to give you something sublime, not to take you, not to take from you, not to exploit you, but to give you something sublime. You see? So that is the third stage, initiation. And then, if you are situated in the third stage nicely—that means if you follow the regulative principles under my direction—then the fourth stage automatically comes. After this third stage, the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, up to eighth, automatically comes. That is gradual development. So in the third stage, if you follow the regulative principle and chant with some prescribed number, numerical strength, then your all misgivings will be over automatically. What are these misgivings? The first misgiving is that I am this body. Everyone is under the concept of this body. This is... I am not this body. That is a fact. But body is changing. There are many examples. One of the example is a very common example. Suppose a man is dead. Now everybody is crying, and if we ask "Why you are crying?" "Oh, my son is dead." I can say, "Your son is lying here. Why you are saying that he is dead?" "No, no. He is dead. He is gone.
Radio Interview -- March 12, 1968, San Francisco:
Prabhupāda: Certainly. Anywhere there is spiritual conception, sex life is not indulged. Anywhere, either it may be Christianity or Hinduism... Sex life is materialism. That is opposite number of spiritualism. So people are trained gradually to refrain from sex life. And in the sannyāsa life he's completely trained. Therefore he's allowed to move in the society for preaching spiritual education.
Interviewer: The whole world has heard of the Maharishi Mahesh. Is he part of your order?
Prabhupāda: No. I have heard so much in the paper.
Radio Interview -- March 12, 1968, San Francisco:
Interviewer: At the end.
Prabhupāda: Yes, thanks(?) to the devotees.
Interviewer: All right, thank you. Caller, you're on the air with the Swami on KGO.
Caller (woman): Oh, hi. Is this on? I just wanted to ask to Swami where karma enters in as far as his teachings are concerned and also whether his concept of God is that of a being that is good and so reflected through healings?
Interviewer: Okay. Karma, is this a part of your religion?
Prabhupāda: Yes, karma. Karma means work, fruitive work. As you work, as you sow...
Caller: I'll take my answer on the air please, okay?
Interviewer: Go ahead, Swami. She's just going to listen to your answer on the radio. Go ahead with your description of karma.
Prabhupāda: Karma means fruitive work. Just like you are laboring for some wages. You get your wages. Similarly, this material world our work is rewarded. Good work is rewarded with good benefit and bad work is punished. This is the law of karma.
Morning Walk at Stow Lake -- March 23, 1968, San Francisco:
Mālatī: So these... If you do not take to Kṛṣṇa conscious, you are a dog.
Prabhupāda: Yes, equal to dog. Because he has no other conception except those four principles, eating, sleeping, mating and defending. That is there in the animals. Don't you see the swans? They are enjoying sex life. So what is the difference between man... A man also does like that. So long one is not above these four principles of animal demands, he's as good as animal. To meet animal demands in a polished way is not civilization. One must be above the animal demands. That is civilization. You have read that poetry, "Alexander and the Robber"? Have you read?
Mālatī: I don't think so. Say again?
Devotee (2): "Alexander and the Rabbit"?
Mālatī: No.
Prabhupāda: Alexander the Great, you have heard the name?
Mālatī: Yes.
Questions and Answers -- September 6, 1968, New York:
Prabhupāda: The boys, they complain each other and again make friends. So Yaśodā was..., "Oh, Kṛṣṇa, I gave You sweetmeats. You are eating earth?" "No, mother. I have not eaten. They are telling false." And they were still, "Yes. We have seen, mother, He has eaten." Then mother asked Him, "Oh, show Your face. Open Your mouth. I want to see." So He opened His mouth, and she saw all the universe within His mouth, not only earth, the whole planets, sun and moon, and everything, within His mouth. Then she thought, "Oh, what I have seen? All right. Don't do it." That's all. (laughter) She is not at all surprised. She thought that "I saw something. Maybe I wrong or right. All right. Don't do it." That's all. So they were so much affectionate to Kṛṣṇa that Kṛṣṇa's this jugglery could not enchant them. (chuckles) You see? Therefore Kṛṣṇa said to the gopīs that "Your love is so pure that it is not possible for Me to repay." Kṛṣṇa is declaring insolvent to pay their debt. "You be satisfied with your love only. I cannot repay." That is the position of Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa and the residents of Vṛndāvana so affectionately connected, that there is no such conception that "Kṛṣṇa is God, Kṛṣṇa can play wonderful things." They simply love Kṛṣṇa. And out of love they forget everything. "All right. That's all right. That's all right." So that ecstasy of love is only possible in Vṛndāvana.
Room Conversation -- October 27, 1968, Montreal, With First Devotees Going to London On Evening of Their Departure:
Prabhupāda: Everyone eats. Kṛṣṇa also... Kṛṣṇa eats through fire. Therefore yajña is offered. Kṛṣṇa eats by so many ways, but people want to see that "I give foodstuff; it must be finished." (chuckles) So for the rudimental seers and the less intelligent class, this is...
Janārdana: Virāṭa rūpa conception.
Prabhupāda: Virāṭa rūpa, yes. That is also nice, right, that through fire He eats, yes, or through the mouth of the brāhmaṇas and devotees. Two things are there. Therefore, according to the Vedic religion, the brāhmaṇas or Vaiṣṇavas, devotees, are invited to take food in some ceremonies. In śraddhā ceremony they are especially invited with great honor. In pilgrimage somebody goes to Vrndavana, Prayag, Mathura. They invite the brāhmaṇas and Vaisnavas so that through them Kṛṣṇa is eating. They have come to satisfy Kṛṣṇa in a place of pilgrimage. These are the systems. So for the purpose of eating, so many brāhmaṇas have sprung up. Because brāhmaṇas are invited, so so many so-called brāhmaṇas there. They'll be present when eating, and when there is chanting of Vedas they are not present there. (break) Baby has also tilaka. (chuckles) She is very happy. You see? I never seen such small child not crying. That means she is always happy. She's not crying means... Because baby cries when there is discomfort. And with her face shows that she is very happy. (laughs)
Press Interview -- December 30, 1968, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: But how much rascal he is who accepts him as God. He's rascal number one. He is a cheater and the man who is cheated he is also another rascal. He does not know what is God. Anybody comes as God, as God has become so cheap it can be available in the market, everywhere.
Journalist: Well of course the western concept that man is created in the image of God, consequently God must look like man kind of thing, therefore any man can be God.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. You have got so many scientists. Just find out what is the image of God, whether his form is not... Where is that department? You have no such department. You have got so many department, technology department, this department. Where is that department, what is God to know? Is there any department of knowledge?
Journalist: I don't know if... There's no God department working tonight I'll tell you that right now.
Prabhupāda: That is the difficulty. And here is, here is the Kṛṣṇa conscious movement is the department of knowledge how to know God. Then you'll not accept any rascal as God, you'll accept only God as God. (end)
1969 Conversations and Morning Walks
Radio Interview -- February 12, 1969, Los Angeles:
Interviewer: In what... Are there fundamental differences between, or is it simply a difference in approach between your awareness and interpretations and, for example, those of the people who are involved with Zen? With some of the other Eastern concepts? Would you like to...
Prabhupāda: No, of course, I do not know what is Zen conception, or Eastern conception, but we agree with many of them, just like we agree with the concept of God presented by Bible or Koran. That is recognized. And Bhagavad-gītā is so simple that it does not require any interpretation. When things are understood directly, there is no question of interpretation. When things are not understood, then you can interpret, I can interpret. So the verses of Bhagavad-gītā are so simple that there is no question of interpretation. Unfortunately I have seen that in Bhagavad-gītā, commented by a great scholar like Dr. Radhakrishnan, the verse is translated very nicely and that is done by an Englishman, but he interprets in a different way. So when we can understand the thing very nicely, there is no question of interpretation. You see?
Room Conversation -- April 30, 1969, Boston:
Prabhupāda: These four things, namely birth, death, old age, and disease will accompany you. Therefore in the Bhagavad-gītā it is said that mad-dhāma gatvā punar janma na vidyate. "If you reach My abode in the spiritual sky, then you'll have no more birth." So this male-female question is everywhere. The only difference is that in spiritual world there is no need of sex life, or there is no impelling sex life, although there is attraction between man and woman. That is... Just like Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. There is attraction, of Rādhā for Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa for Rādhā, but there is no sex life. So male-female, conception of male-female, as we have got here, there is concomitant factor of sex life, but that should not be exported to the spiritual world, that idea. There is also male-female, but there is no sex life attraction. That's all right.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 11, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Prabhupāda: He did not give much stress on this material body.
Allen Ginsberg: No! At the end of his life, he didn't count on the material body.
Prabhupāda: So, there is a spiritual concept of life in his poetry.
Hayagrīva: Blake died on chanting. I don't know what he was chanting but he died singing.
Allen Ginsberg: He died singing.
Prabhupāda: Ahh.
Hayagrīva: He died singing something.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Allen Ginsberg: Okay. So the problem I was posing before is, which I leave open, I don't know. What is the most attractive and suitable name here in this material country?
Prabhupāda: Now, take for example the Muhammadan name Allah. Allah means the greatest. So God is greatest. So that greatest conception is this Brahman conception. And so far Christian, I don't think they have got any particular name. They say God.
Allen Ginsberg: Yes. Lord, God. That is the basic one.
Prabhupāda: Controller. God means controller. Is it not?
Allen Ginsberg: What is the etymology of God? Do you know?
Hayagrīva: I don't know.
Prabhupāda: God is the equivalent of īśvara. Īśvara means controller.
Allen Ginsberg: Then the Jews, which were my background, had a prohibition...
Prabhupāda: Jehovah.
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 12, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Allen Ginsberg: Pictures should not be made. Pictures should not be made. Because it would limit God to human conception.
Prabhupāda: That is another thing. That is in Muhammadan. That means God is not material. That is the idea. Because here the idea is when I make something image or picture, that is material. So there is a prohibition of accepting God as material. But if you go to a higher stage, then you'll understand that if God is everything then there is no material. That is Vaiṣṇava philosophy. If God is everything, then where is material? He is spiritual. Material means when you cannot understand God. That is material. Everything is sky. When it is covered by cloud we call it is cloudy. Similarly, cloud has no existence. It comes only to cover sometimes, but the sky is eternal. Similarly, God is eternal. When you are covered by some māyā, you cannot see, you cannot understand God, that is material. So any philosophy which does not help understanding God, that is material. That is material. Otherwise, there is no material. Where is material if God is everything? Sarvam khalv idam brahma. You see?
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 13, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Prabhupāda: That's it. That's anyway.
Allen Ginsberg: He says, all conceptions of the existence of the self, as well as all conceptions of the nonexistence of the self, as well as all conceptions of the existence of a supreme self, as well as all conceptions of the nonexistence of the supreme self are equally arbitrary, being only conceptions.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is a jugglery of words. So his principle was that they did not believe in God. So still the Buddhists says, "You don't believe in God." So but they are worshiping God, Lord Buddha. There are so many temples. In the same way, as we worship. So this is transcendental cheating.
Allen Ginsberg: Transcendental cheating.
Prabhupāda: (chuckling) Just like sometimes father has to cheat his child. That is not cheating. That is welfare. But apparently it (looks) likes cheating. A child is insistent on some point. "Yes, yes. You are all right. But you do this like this. Yes, you are very good boy." Like that. But Vaiṣṇava, in Vaiṣṇava literature, in Vedic literature, he is God. The godless worshiping God in a different way. If there is nothing, why they should worship Buddha even?
Room Conversation with Allen Ginsberg -- May 14, 1969, Columbus, Ohio:
Allen Ginsberg: Of Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Rāmādi-mūrtiśu... In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is stated. Rāmādi-murttisu kalā niyamena tiṣṭhan nānāvatārān akarod bhuvaneṣu kintu, kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ. Kṛṣṇaḥ svayaṁ. Svayaṁ means the Supreme Person. Samabhavat paramaḥ pumān yo. Parama means the Supreme; pumān means the puruṣa, the male. God is male. God is not female. The conception of female God, that is not authorized. Paramaḥ pumān yo. So female is prakṛti, nature. Parasya śaktīr vividhaiva... Śaktī. So He has got many energies. The whole thing is manifested by energy, multi-energies. Viṣṇu-śaktīḥ parā prokta (CC Madhya 6.154). Viṣṇu, the energy of Viṣṇu, is transcendental, spiritual. Kṣetrajñākhya tathā para. As also this kṣetrajñā-śaktī, marginal potency, that is also transcendental, that is living entities. They are also transcendental. They are not material. Avidyā-karma-saṅga anya tṛtīya-śaktīr iśyate. Another śaktī, another energy, is there. That is avidyā, darkness. This is material energy. So living entity is originally spiritual, transcendental, as good as Kṛṣṇa's personal energy. But now they are covered by this material energy.
1970 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- November 4, 1970, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Why he is crying? If he is hungry, let him come here. We shall provide him. Why he is crying for that? What business he has got to cry, "What will they do?" What they will, that they know. Why he is crying? What is his business for crying for this future? If he is hungry, let him come and we shall provide him. This is not... That is a childish conception. "If everybody becomes sādhu, then what will be the nature of the society?" That is, never becomes. That never becomes. To become sādhu and to become a Vaiṣṇava is not so easy thing. These idle questions, why they publish? I do not know. This is idle question. It never becomes. Lord Kṛṣṇa personally says that "You simply surrender unto Me." How many have surrendered till now? Lord Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā that "You give up everything and surrender unto Me." So how many have done that? So this is a rascal question, "If everyone surrenders, then what will happen to the world?" But that will never happen. It is very difficult to surrender. That he does not know. (Hindi) It is not expected that everyone become sādhu. To become sādhu is not so easy thing, especially this nature of sādhu, pure. How many are there? We have given the prescription that "Give up this, give up this." How many have given up this? So that is not possible, but still, these nonsense questions are raised.
Room Conversation -- November 7, 1970, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: They are attracted to Kṛṣṇa. These people, they are... (Hindi) But you are taking Kṛṣṇa as Hindu. That is your mistake. Kṛṣṇa is... Hindu ne. He is God. He is God. God Hindu ne, Mussulman ne, Christian ne, Parsi ne—God is God. (Hindi) And I am also not interested to preach Hindu dharma. (Hindi) ...Kṛṣṇa dharma. Kṛṣṇa consciousness, that is the only dharma. (Hindi) ...Kṛṣṇa literature. It is not a Hindu dharma literature. (Hindi)
So they are not interested in many gods, Durga, Kali, or Śiva, or... (Hindi) Strictly, if you take the version of Bhagavad-gītā, why Bhagavān says that "You give up all religion. Simply you take to the shelter of My feet?" That means to take shelter of Kṛṣṇa's lotus feet is the only religion. (Hindi) Practically that was against Hindu conception. (Hindi) We are not talking of God, (Hindi) we are talking of love. Why you misunderstand? Don't misunderstand the philosophy. We are teaching love of Godhead. It is not we are teaching that you become afraid of God. (break) (Hindi) Bahut easy process hai. You come, sing, dance, and take prasādam. Is there any difficulty? If people come to us, in melodious songs they sing and they dance and when they are tired they take sumptuously prasādam, so what can be the more convenient way? (Hindi) You are a qualified lawyer, but you cannot do for want of money. (Hindi) He has no right because he does not know what is name. Nāma-cintāmaṇi-kṛṣṇaś caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ. (Hindi) Yes. Because you are responsible, if you cut throat of a goat, then you'll be responsible. Just like in your jurist(?) law, if you commit murder—you are lawyer—you have to be hanged. So, (Hindi) "...life for life." So I am killing one life. I shall not be liable to repay by my life.
Room Conversation -- November 7, 1970, Bombay:
Guest (9): The true philosophy.
Prabhupāda: Yes. What is God? What is the conception of God? Oh, they have accepted, therefore: "Yes, here it is right conception." Yes.
Guest (9): Go back to Godhead.
Prabhupāda: Back to Godhead.
Guest (9): Go back to Godhead. (conversation among Indians about BTG's)
Guest (9): I distributed what I got.
Prabhupāda: No, I shall arrange to distribute. I am getting fifty thousand Back to Godheads. Fifty thousand. I shall distribute.
Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:
Prabhupāda: You have heard about our philosophy? You have heard about our philosophy?
Guest (1) (Indian man): Whatever I have read, but, you see, I don't believe what I have read. I believe only whatever I have talked to you, whatever you have said.
Prabhupāda: No, no, that is another thing. But still, what is your conception of our philosophy? What is that teaching?
Guest (1): Whose? My?
Prabhupāda: No, as we are?
Guest (1): No, I have understood what I have heard from you, what is your conception of God, I have not understood.
Prabhupāda: Our conception of God is that He is a transcendental person. Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ (Bs. 5.1). Īśvara means Lord. The Supreme Lord is a person. As you are person, He is also person, but He is the chief person. Nityo nityānāṁ. He is the leader, and we are all led. Or He is the master; we are the servitors. That is our self-realization, to understand that "I am eternal servant of God." In Bhagavad-gītā it is said, mamaivāṁśo jīva-bhūtaḥ jīva-loke sanātanaḥ: (BG 15.7) "Eternally all the living entities are My part and parcels." So as the part and parcel of anything is to serve the cause of the whole, similarly, all living entities, their only business is to serve the Supreme. That is all.
Room Conversation -- December 13, 1970, Indore:
Prabhupāda: But he feels inconvenience without varieties of life. The Bhāgavata says, tvayy asta-bhāvād aviśuddha-buddhayaḥ: "Their intelligence is not clean." Arūhya kṛcchreṇa paraṁ padaṁ tataḥ: (SB 10.2.32) "Although they rise up to the brahma-jyotir," patanty adho tataḥ, "they again come back."
Haṁsadūta: And the nirvāṇa conception of life is just before Brahman?
Prabhupāda: Nirvāṇa conception is marginal position between brahma-jyotir and this material world.
Haṁsadūta: Just on the brink.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kāraṇārṇava. Kāraṇārṇava. The Kāraṇa Ocean wherefrom the beginning of creation, material creation, that is nirvāṇa.
Devotee (4): Virajā.
Prabhupāda: Virajā, yes.
1971 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- January 17, 1971, Allahabad:
Guest (1): That is also charm in that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. But still, He's still charming. Because it is all transcendental, we cannot compare the blackish cloud. It is simply given, an idea, that it is like blackish cloud. But immediately it is said, still, kandarpa-koṭi-kamanīya-viśeṣa-śobhaṁ govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi (Bs. 5.30). So God has many names, and according to your conception, you can have God's name also. But out of all those names, many thousands and unlimited different types of names, Kṛṣṇa is the principal name because Kṛṣṇa means all-attractive. You cannot say that God is not all-attractive. And if you use that sense, all-attractive, this is the word, Kṛṣṇa.
Discussion with Indians -- January 18, 1971, Allahabad:
Guest (2): The thing is...
Prabhupāda: No, you also hear me. First of all let me know what is the process of seeking knowledge. You cannot make your own process.
Guest (2): The concepts have changed. You are making a change from the...
Prabhupāda: No, no. First of all you know that I am speaking from Bhagavad-gītā. Bhagavad-gītā says, tad viddhi praṇipātena (BG 4.34). Is it not? Tad viddhi praṇipātena. You have to surrender first of all.
Guest (2): Surrender to whom?
Prabhupāda: Anyone wherefrom you are seeking knowledge.
Guest (2): Ah! Surrender and...
Guest (1): You lose your identity.
Prabhupāda: Yes. First of all you have to find out a person where you can surrender. Then you can ask and you can seek knowledge. Otherwise there is no... Simply waste of time. Why should you waste your time? Why shall I waste my time? Are you surrendered to me? If you are not surrendered to me...
Room Conversation -- August 14, 1971, London:
Prabhupāda: But Jesus Christ never said that He is God. He said "Son of God." We have no objection to chant the name, holy name of Jesus Christ. We have no objection. But we are preaching that "Chant the holy name of God." If you haven't got any name of God, then you chant our conception of name of God, Kṛṣṇa. We don't say Kṛṣṇa.
- nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis
- tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ
- etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavān mamāpi
- durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ
Lord Caitanya says, in each and every name of God... There are many names of God. But in each and every name of God, the full potency of God is there. So... And there is no hard and fast rule for chanting the holy name of God. Anywhere, at anytime, anyone, in any circumstances, he can chant. So Caitanya Mahāprabhu says "My Lord, You are so merciful that in this age..." Why...? Not in this age. Every age. "You are always in full potency in Your name. And I can associate with You simply by chanting Your holy name. But I am so unfortunate, I have no attraction for that." A simple thing, to chant the name.
Conversation with Journalists -- August 18, 1971, London:
Journalist (1): Do you need to have a name and address and occupation for God?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Yes. Just like when you come, I ask you what you are: "What is your name? What is your address? What is occupation?" This is the first introduction. If I do not know your name, address, occupation, then what is the use of talking with you?
Journalist (1): Well, I would... Again, its a very interesting concept because often in Western civilization God is defined more as an idea than as a, something...
Prabhupāda: No. That is nonsense. God is fact. God is a person like you and me. You can talk with Him, you can see Him. That is God. Not idea. We are talking with Kṛṣṇa. We are taking His instruction and abiding by His order. It is not an idea. It is fact. That is God.
Journalist (1): That's a difficult thing for people...
Prabhupāda: Not difficult thing. If you do not take it is difficult. If you accept, there is no difficulty. They are accepting. There is no difficulty. They have also belonged to Western country. They are happy. And ask him.
Journalist (1): I don't dispute, but you said that they are...
Prabhupāda: And they'll give you all information of God.
Room Conversation -- August 25, 1971, London:
Prabhupāda: Allahabad? Conch, from conchshell? It is especially used in Bengal. A woman... that is an auspicious sign that she is with her husband, to have conchshell bangle. Śaṅkha-sari. A woman dressed śaṅkha and sari, śaṅkha-sari. They don't require any other ornament. One nice sari and śaṅkha. That is Indian conception of woman having husband. That is distinction between widow and a woman having husband. Widow will not accept sari. All finished. Vedic culture, widow should finish her life after having the husband. Saha-gamana. Satī. Yes. (break) ...have got enough to preach. People will like it.
Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:
Mensa Member: The soul is a very interesting concept, the soul as well, the fact that the soul is quantifiable, that it exists in a smaller part in the larger animals, and a higher part in a higher animals.
Śyāmasundara: No. It's the same size in all entities.
Mensa Member: Oh, it is, is it? But when we reach a point when we don't know whether there are living things or not, you know, the amino acids, and things like that or...
Dr. Weir: Well, I would take up that straight away, fundamentally, that it's perfectly correct to say it's the same size in every (indistinct) has no size.
Prabhupāda: No. It has size. We cannot measure it.
Dr. Weir: That's what I mean. Therefore the word size is a misconception.
Prabhupāda: But that is not a scientific statement. Because you have no measuring instrument you cannot say it has no size.
Room Conversation with Dr. Weir of the Mensa Society -- September 5, 1971, London:
Dr. Weir: Well, this is a form of scientific atavism. It's rather outmoded with the usual concepts of long ago. But one's rather got beyond that now.
Śyāmasundara: No, it then takes...
Prabhupāda: So we have to go down there now...
Mensa Member: (indistinct) great argument.
Prabhupāda: Yes. We shall talk more...
Dr. Weir: Well, I've enjoyed it very much. It was very kind of you. Where are you going on Wednesday? Where are you going?
Prabhupāda: I'm going to Mombassa.
Room Conversation with Mayor -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: Yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tridhātuke sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. Bhauma ijya-dhīḥ. These are nationality, ye bhauma ijya-dhīḥ, the conception of worshiping the land, bhauma. Bhauma means land, bhūmi. Ijya, ijya means worshipable. So one who thinks that bhauma, bhūmi, anything made of bhūmi, earth, worshipable...
Guest: I don't call it worshipable, Prabhupāda, but I have, I have more (indistinct) with this name, because...
Prabhupāda: (Hindi) This is all illusion. This jananī janma bhūmi, huh?
Devotee: I'm going for Guru dasa.
Prabhupāda: Accha. This ijya-dhīḥ, to worship the land of birth, but bhārata-bhūmi has special, it is pūjā...
Guest: That is my contention.
Prabhupāda: Not, not as nationality.
Interview with Reporters -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: A Kṛṣṇa conscious person is never afraid of anything. Bhayaṁ dvitīyābhiniveśataḥ syād. One who has conception of anything other than Kṛṣṇa, he is afraid. One who knows everything is Kṛṣṇa, why he should be afraid? If bomb is coming, he will see, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa is coming." Yes. That is the vision of the devotee. So he thinks, "Oh, Kṛṣṇa wants to kill me as bomb. Oh, that's all right. I will be killed." That is Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Reporter: We do not fight?
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Reporter: We do not fight?
Prabhupāda: No, he will fight. He will fight. By the direction of Kṛṣṇa.
Reporter: By God inside?
Prabhupāda: Yes. He is not..., he is not afraid of fighting, but he will fight under direction of Kṛṣṇa.
Interview with Reporters -- November 10, 1971, New Delhi:
Prabhupāda: Huh? There is no question of preference. Kṛṣṇa's creation, it is there. You are creating (indistinct) caste, jana-saṅgaś caste. Caste is already given, in a different name. How you can make casteless? That is not possible. The whole world—"I am American," "I am Indian"—this is caste, bigger caste. Yasyātma-buddhi-kuṇa. So long you will be under the concept of this body, there must be caste division. So we have to come to the Kṛṣṇa consciousness, then there will be no caste. Just like these boys, Americans, Europeans, Africans, Canadians, they have no caste, they have no nationality. They are simply for Kṛṣṇa. That is casteless.
Reporter: So are they brāhmaṇas?
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Reporter: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Yes. Kṛṣṇa conscious means brāhmaṇa. Brahma jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ.
Reporter: Not by birth?
Prabhupāda: Not by birth. They are brāhmaṇas by quality. They have got sacred thread. That is also there in the śāstra. Yasya hi yad lakṣaṇaṁ syat. Varṇa has been given. Varṇa. Varṇa, we want to compare symptoms. The brāhmaṇas are this: satya, samaḥ, damaḥ, titikṣa, ārjavam, jñānam vijñānam āstikyaṁ brahma-karma svabhāva-jam (BG 18.42). This is the symptom of brāhmaṇa. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā. If you find these symptoms anywhere, he is a brāhmaṇa.
Room Conversation with Dr. Karan Singh, -- November 25, 1971, Delhi:
Prabhupāda: We are giving shape to your philosophy. Just like it was the conception that in India there are brāhmaṇas only. Amongst the Hindus, there are brāhmaṇas.
Dr. Singh: (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: Is it not? Now we are creating brāhmaṇas from America, from Australia. Is it not re-creation of (indistinct)?
Dr. Singh: Restatement of Hinduism.
Śyāmasundara: He has always been open to creative reinterpretation.
Prabhupāda: This is creative reinterpretation. We are accepting brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas—especially brāhmaṇas—from every community.
1972 Conversations and Morning Walks
Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:
Bob: That, for today, is a radical concept, for nowadays.
Prabhupāda: Hmm?
Bob: Presently, in America that's a radical concept.
Prabhupāda: Well, in America there are so many things which requires thorough reformation. And this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is that. When I went to your country, so I saw these boys and girls, they're living like friends. I said that "You cannot live as friends; you must get yourself married."
Bob: Many people see that even marriage is not sacred. So they find no desire to... Because people get married, and if things are not proper they get divorced so very easy...
Prabhupāda: Yes, that also.
Talk with Bob Cohen -- February 27-29, 1972, Mayapura:
Prabhupāda: Soul is the same. Just like you are under certain conception of life at the present moment. Just like your these countrymen. They were under certain conception of life. But by training they have taken another conception of life. So the ultimate training is how to become Kṛṣṇa conscious. That is perfection.
Bob: If two people are Kṛṣṇa conscious, is their soul the same?
Prabhupāda: Soul is always the same.
Bob: In each person. In each person is it the same?
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) Soul, as spirit soul, pure soul, they are all equal. Even in animal. Therefore it is said, paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18), means those who are actually learned, they do not see the outward covering, either human being or animal.
Bob: Oh, then they are all equal and the same, or just equal? Are they equal and the same, or are they just equal?
Prabhupāda: No, equal and the same. Qualitatively and quantitatively.
Room Conversation with John Griesser (later initiated as Yadubara Dasa) -- March 10, 1972, Vrndavana:
Yadubara: I have been asking questions of devotees. It's hard for me to comprehend some of the things in the scriptures. I just don't understand.
Prabhupāda: No, apart from scripture, from your personal understanding you can place questions. People, generally, they have no idea of God. We are placing the factual God. That is very difficult to understand. Generally they think it is an idea, fiction. But we don't think like that. We have got clear conception of God. That is the difference between our Society and all any other religious groups. They have no clear idea of God. They simply say that there is God, God is great, but no clearer.
Yadubara: I think a lot of other societies make compromises.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Yadubara: Many other societies make compromises. Many other religious groups make compromises in their doctrine.
Prabhupāda: Yes, because they have no clear idea. They cannot push forward their concept. Just like the other day (indistinct) lady, she asked if Kṛṣṇa was a naughty boy. Yes, because He is God He must be naughty boy. Otherwise, wherefrom this idea of naughty boy comes if that quality is not in God? God is the origin of everything, creator of everything. So if He hasn't got this naughtiness in His person, then how this thing comes to be? That is the Vedānta version, janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). The Supreme Absolute Truth is that from which or from whom everything emanates.
Room Conversation with John Griesser (later initiated as Yadubara Dasa) -- March 10, 1972, Vrndavana:
Yadubara: But if somebody is stepping on you, then you should take action to remove those people.
Prabhupāda: Yes, our position is how to satisfy Kṛṣṇa, not for personal self. Ordinary world activities. Serving Kṛṣṇa and the result of such service is the same. In the material world, doing something and result of the doing is different. Our means and end is the same. Just like Kṛṣṇa advises Yudhiṣṭhira to speak lie to Droṇācārya. It is a means. The means is also Kṛṣṇa, and the end is also Kṛṣṇa. That is Absolute. Absolute... We must have clear conception of what is the Absolute. In any circumstances, the quality of the Absolute remains the same. What was the question in Surat?
Devotee: Whether the British should have been forcibly removed from India.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is ordinary duty. If you encroach upon my freedom, I have the right to kill you. That is recommended. That is clearly stated in the śāstras. If anyone sets fire in another's house, if anyone kidnaps his wife, if anyone takes his money—so many list—he is to be killed. There is no question.
Room Conversation with John Griesser (later initiated as Yadubara Dasa) -- March 10, 1972, Vrndavana:
Yadubara: They get very upset.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Yadubara: They have no conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. They just don't understand.
Prabhupāda: Only intelligent person can understand. If you can understand, then you are intelligent. Are you understanding or not?
Yadubara: No. (laughter)
Prabhupāda: Then why you are not understanding yet? We have given free scope. What is your reason of not understanding?
Yadubara: I think I understand a little bit, gradually.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. Even if you understand little bit, that will give you great benefit. Svalpam apy asya dharmasya trāyate mahato. If you understand little, that means your door is open. Just like sometimes there is boil. If little mouth is open, that means that is the beginning of oozing out all the pus. It will gradually open, and that is the natural venue. Open and it will be cured. So little understanding is also very good. Then you will understand further.
Room Conversation with Maharishi Impersonalists -- April 7, 1972, Melbourne:
Impersonalist: Becomes one.
Prabhupāda: Yes. If the interest is one—to capture this—then it is one. That means to... You cannot lose your individuality. But if your interest is one, then you merge into. Do you understand? Just like you are all Australian. Why you are all Australian? Or you are all individual. How you become all Australian, merge into the Australian conception? Because as Australian, you have one interest. So individuality cannot be killed. That is not possible. You are all individual. But when you make your interest one, then you merge into that thing. Each one of us, an individual person... What is your ideal, you all three? You are three persons. What is your philosophy, ideal? Vegetarian?
Room Conversation -- April 18, 1972, Hong Kong:
Guest (1): In the minds of some people the sudden attraction of Western youth to Eastern religions...
Prabhupāda: No. It is not Eastern. That is a wrong conception. God is for everybody. Eastern people, when I speak of Kṛṣṇa consciousness, they say, "What is this Kṛṣṇa? We know Kṛṣṇa. What we have to learn from Swamiji?" "Familiarity breeds contempt." But in the Western countries when we speak of Kṛṣṇa, they see the philosophy. They see the science and become attracted. We, in the very beginning, we neglect: "Oh, what is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" Otherwise there is no question of Western or Eastern. Kṛṣṇa is for everyone. Kṛṣṇa is neither Western, neither Eastern. But Eastern, our, especially Indians, they have learned to reject. That is their education: immediately reject it. This is their new culture, to reject everything. At least Jawaharlal Nehru began like that, "Anything Indian is bad. Everything London-made is good." That was his philosophy. And if one European would go to see him, immediately admission.
Room Conversation -- May 4, 1972, Mexico:
Prabhupāda: Yes. Buddha, we accept him as incarnation, as expansion of Kṛṣṇa. He's Kṛṣṇa working as Buddha, Lord Buddha. Keśava dhṛta buddha śarīra. He has accepted body of Buddha. That is our conception of Lord Buddha.
Martin: And Jesus Christ and Muhammad?
Prabhupāda: Everyone.
Martin: They were all the reincarnation of Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Martin: I see.
Prabhupāda: Yad yad vibhūti. Any, anyone who is showing some extraordinary power, he is supposed to be incarnation of Kṛṣṇa's energy. Yad yad vibhūtimat sattvaṁ mama tejo 'ṁśa-sambhavam. The brilliant energy. He represents the brilliant energy of Kṛṣṇa. And the energy is not different from the energetic. (aside:) Hm. What is that?
Devotee: I just said that this is a very good sound track of your speaking—this chanting and...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Interview -- July 5, 1972, New York:
Prabhupāda: So if it is accepted that religion means the law of God... Is that accepted? Now we have to study what are the special laws of God and what is the nature of God. That is divine search. So from Bhagavad-gītā we understand the nature of God, that he is the supreme father. Is there any objection? God is the supreme father. I think in Christian religion also they accept. Is it not? Now, the supreme father says that all living entities, not only these human being or the civilized human being but even the animals, the trees, plants, the insects, birds, beasts, fishes or other aquatics—any living entity, even a small insect. Living entity means who has got that vital force of moving. Some of them are not moving also, just like trees. They do not move, but still they are living entity. So from Bhagavad-gītā we understand that all living entities, irrespective of bodily feature, they are sons of God. What do you think of this conception?
Interview -- July 20, 1972, Paris:
Prabhupāda: What do you think? What do you think? I'm happy or unhappy? (indistinct microphone is faulty) ...this wrong conception should be... (indistinct) We should know our real identity. Then everything will be all right. We are going on in the wrong concept of life. Therefore people are not happy. So (indistinct) ...spiritual master... (indistinct) If people accept... (indistinct) They'll be happy.
Frenchman: (indistinct) ...history of many masters and many great teachers such as Jesus Christ and many others... (indistinct) ...come to... (indistinct) ...message. (indistinct) ...today on the same level.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because from God's side there is always an attempt to make the people right. As soon as they're wrongly directed, some messenger comes like Jesus Christ or Buddha or, before Him, Lord Kṛṣṇa. So what we are preaching that is not new. It is God consciousness. And all the great messiahs they came. But the thing is that people are changing in their different education mentalities. So we have to present things in such a way that intelligent person can accept the old teachings in the western countries. Like Lord Jesus Christ... Either they're not being followed or they're not properly understood because in London I saw hundreds of churches are vacant. That means that it's so practical that people have no more interest in Christianity or the Christian people could not convince them of the spiritual necessity of life. Many churches are for sale. That's not a good sign. That means people have lost interest in spiritual life but fortunately the younger generation, they are taking to this spiritual movement.
Room Conversation and Interview with Ian Polsen -- July 31, 1972, London:
Prabhupāda: Hm. Comparative religion, from our point of view, that there cannot be many religions, cannot be many religions. Religion means... We define religion as the law given by God. So we understand from Bhagavad-gītā that God says, Kṛṣṇa says, man-manā bhava mad-bhaktaḥ, mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru: "Always think of Me, become My devotee, offer your obeisances unto Me." So any religion that has no conception of God, how he can think of God? If I think of something, that something must be known to me; otherwise how can I think of it? If I imagine something, that is not wanted. My imagination of God... God is not a thing to be imagined by me. He is a concrete thing. Therefore according to our philosophy, any so-called religion which has no conception of God, that is not religion. That is simply mental speculation. We accept that religion means the law given by God. But if you do not know what is God, what is His law, then where is religion? Therefore in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam it is said that all types of pseudo religion is rejected. You can ask any religious man, "What is your conception of God?" he cannot give any clear conception. So far we are concerned, we can immediately give conception of God—His name, His address, everything. That is the difference. Strictly speaking, we do not accept any system of religion as bona fide. They are all rejected. That is not religion. They do not know what is God. What is that religion? Strictly speaking, that is not religion. But if we speak publicly, they will be angry. So this comparative study of religion, we don't believe in it, because there is no religion. Where is the scope of comparative study?
Devotee: Nothing can compare.
Room Conversation and Interview with Ian Polsen -- July 31, 1972, London:
Prabhupāda: There is no religion. Strictly speaking, simply some dogmas, maybe some moral principles. That is another thing. But moral principles we have to transcend. We don't say that don't follow moral principles. But even they do not follow the moral principles. Then what is the..., where is the religion? Just like Christian religion, it is said that "Thou shalt not kill." But everyone is killing. So nobody's... Factually, religion means conception of God and the words of God, all over the world. Just like good citizen means he knows what is the government and what is the law of government. He is following. Similarly, religious person means he must know what is God and what are the words of God. So our principle is that we follow the words of God. God says, God says that "Always think of Me." So who can object to this, if he's seriously about religion? Why one should not think of God always? God says that "You think of Me." But if you have no idea of God, how you'll think of? We have God, Kṛṣṇa, here. We can think of His form. We are busy in His service. We are not only thinking; we are trying to become His devotee. We are serving, trying to serve Him. Rising early in the morning, offering maṅgala-ārati, then prayers, then reading His message, trying to apply in our life as far as possible. We are not perfect, but we are trying to follow the instruction of God. This is our life. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakta mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru. So you have studied that magazine. Can you give me any idea, what do you think about religion? What is religion?
Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:
Jayatīrtha: Pragmatic.
Prabhupāda: Pragmatic?
Jayatīrtha: Pragmatic means practical, and utopian means idealistic concept. (indistinct) So many people are suffering here, famine, so many things, and they're spending so many millions of dollars. (indistinct) anyway.
Prabhupāda: Why the scientists cannot make it straight?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Ideality is assumed in many scientific theories.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Ideality of certain laws of certain matter, they assume it.
Prabhupāda: Are they not utopian?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: But they take it as facts. For example...
Prabhupāda: So you take it your things as fact, we take our fact. Why do you say my things utopian, yours fact? Similarly, I can say my fact, your utopian.
Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: That is explained in Bhāgavatam: satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi (SB 1.1.1). Finally proof.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: If there would be no ideality, the scientists cannot think about ideality itself.
Devotee (1): (indistinct) think about the concept of living eternally because this was the teaching of the church that I was going to. And I used to become very frightened at having to go on and on forever because I couldn't imagine what I'd be doing during all that time. I used to try to put some end to it all. Now in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, we understand that eternity is filled up with ideal activities and that eternal life is very blissful and full of knowledge. This concept is not there in any other teaching. (indistinct)
Prabhupāda: The scientist says there is no life after death.
Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Durāśayā. This is called durāśayā. Durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ. Everything is explained. They are called durāśayā, hope against hope, but it will never be fulfilled.
Devotee (1): I've talked with some so-called educated people, they are impressed by Vedic cosmology, the concept of (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Devotee (1): They are impressed by what is called Vedic cosmology, how they knew five thousand years ago about the situation of planets. But then when you get personal, you tell how these planets are coming, then they will not accept. But they are impressed by the stature of the knowledge that is there.
Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:
Jayatīrtha: Actually people are seeing that more and more all the big problems are being created at universities, all the university students are rioting and becoming restless, Communists...
Prabhupāda: Because the knowledge has begun from wrong conception of life.
Jayatīrtha: They see that they are being cheated, yet they are cheating others also.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Just like Śrīla Prabhupāda says, there are so many departments of knowledge in all the universities, but the most important department of knowledge, what is the purpose of human life, is left out.
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) ...leaders. General public, they do no know, they are ignorant, blind. But the leaders are also blind. So blind leader leading other blind men, that means disaster. That is happening.
Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: That is your rascal's conception. They used to live in palaces. You are rascal; you do not know the history.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are saying that they used to live..., the history, because they don't have the complete information.
Prabhupāda: No, you are rascal, you have rascal's history. We are not rascal; we have got another history. Why shall I accept your history? You are rascal. You be satisfied with the history that your great grandfather and his father used to live in the cave. But we don't accept. Our forefather used to live in palace. Sixteen thousand palaces, Kṛṣṇa. (laughter) So you rascal, you live with your own history. Why you force your rascaldom history upon us? We are not going to accept. We get history from five thousand years ago. You have no history beyond three thousand years. But we give the shortest history, five thousand years ago, Kṛṣṇa. And how much intelligent from historical point of view Kṛṣṇa was. We can understand from His instruction, Bhagavad-gītā. It is not that because we are Kṛṣṇaites we are canvassing. The whole world is reading Bhagavad-gītā. Why, unless there is intelligence? All scholars, all religionists, all philosophers, they are giving attention to Bhagavad-gītā. So how you can say Kṛṣṇa was living in the cave? Your forefather might be living in a cave, but our forefather did not live in a cave but palaces. Your forefather is a monkey, according to that history.
Morning Walk Conversation -- September 28, 1972, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Naturalist. Anyway, you can call him a philosopher. So the basic point is wrong. Starting is wrong. Starting point is mistake and illusion. Therefore, the next point is cheating. If you start from wrong conception of life, then if you distribute knowledge, that means cheating. You do not know, still you are distributing knowledge. But this rascal Darwin, he has no clear idea. He is simply theorizing, speculating, and misleading people. Therefore, he is cheating. So if I cheat you and you cheat me, then how you can expect perfection of life? It is a society of cheating, and that is actually going on. Everyone is thinking, "How I have gorgeous way cheated you." That is politics, diplomacy. If you can cheat your friend very cleverly, then you are supposed to be very big man. Big lawyer means the law is there, but if he can cheat the law, then he is big lawyer.
Introduction Speech By Dr. Kapoor and Conversation -- October 15, 1972, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: Time has nothing to do. That is stated in the Second Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that time has no influence there.
Dr. Kapoor: Neither day nor night.
Prabhupāda: No, there is no such thing.
Dr. Kapoor: Modern conception of speed is within the sphere of time. But our journey transcends time. Naturally it has to be faster than any journey you can imagine.
Prabhupāda: No. We speak from the śāstra. There is no question of imagination. We speak from śāstra. So we have explained, tried to explain these things in Easy Journey to Other Planets. And people are taking it very nicely. It is sold very quickly, very quickly. (break) I would like to see you that you are living in palaces.
Yaśodānandana: We want to put Kṛṣṇa in palace.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is giving you the opportunity, you Americans. Now you are taking Kṛṣṇa consciousness, you will be the most opulent nation of the world. Lakṣmī-Nārāyaṇa both. You have got Lakṣmī, but if you take Nārāyaṇa, Lakṣmī will be permanent. Lakṣmī will not go. And if you reject Nārāyaṇa, then Lakṣmī will stay for some time. That is Cañcalā.
1973 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation -- March 17, 1973, Mayapur:
Śrīdhara Mahārāja: Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna. So, our Swami Mahārāja has done a miracle! (Laughingly) He has done a miracle. What Bhaktivinoda conceived and (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati) Prabhupada tried according to his conception to translate into action we find that through Swami Mahārāja in his last days these revelations have been fulfilled. We are happy, we are glad, we are proud of Swami Mahārāja, and of you all too. When any person comes to take diksa and stay at the Math, we say that after wandering for a long time in a foreign land he is again coming back to his home. Home means homeward, back to God "back to home, back to Godhead." Back to Godhead means back to home, sweet, sweet home. Our home and life is there and nowhere else. So we may be quite free there of any misgivings or misconduct with such bold and clear faith we can go on, onward and onward. Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna. Vāñchā-kalpatarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca....
Prabhupāda: Jaya oṁ viṣṇupāda paramahaṁsa parivrājakācārya....So we are thinking we are very much fortunate to hear His Divine Grace Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya Bhakti Raksaka Śrīdhara Mahārāja. He is, by age and experience, in both ways he is senior to me. I am also always fortunate to have his association for a very long timeperhaps since nineteen hundred and thirty or something like that. At that time, he did not accept sannyāsa; he just left home, vanaprastha. In his white dress he went to Allahabad. (Aside, to Śrīdhara Mahārāja:) Mahārāja, I think you remember this incident when you went to Allahabad.
Morning Walk -- April 26, 1973, Los Angeles:
Devotee: I was wondering is she was alive in human form while Kṛṣṇa was on earth.
Prabhupāda: No, no. She may not be. But where is the wrong if she's not in human form? Eh? Everyone is alive, plants, beasts, everyone is alive. Why you are so much anxious for the human form of life?
Devotee: It wouldn't matter.
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa can talk with animals, with trees, with plants. That is Kṛṣṇa. Do you think that "I cannot talk with plants, therefore the plant should be in human form?" That is your conception. If I can talk with everyone, then where is the difference for me, a human being, or an insect or plant? So there is no such question that everyone should be in human form. Then one can talk with Kṛṣṇa and enjoy. No. (pause)
Devotees: All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda. (end)
Morning Walk -- April 28, 1973, Los Angeles:
Svarūpa Dāmodara: No mirage is... Mirage is not the real image....
Prabhupāda: No, it is illusory. Just like I see there is water in the desert. There is no water. This is illusion. But actually there is water. Therefore I get the conception that there is water. Water is there, but it is not there. Similarly these varieties is here, what we see, the varieties, enjoyment, that is only like that mirage. We have got the experience of water. But we are illusioned. We are seeing in a false place there is water. Similarly, we living entities, we are meant for enjoyment, but we are seeking enjoyment in a false place. Or illusion. Just like animal runs after that desert water. But the intelligent man knows: "Oh, that, there is no water. It looks like water."
Morning Walk -- May 3, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Life, yes. They are searching after the original source. That is life, Kṛṣṇa, sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1), cause of all causes. So this is not theory; this is fact. Now we have to prove it. Then the whole program of these rascals' theory will be changed, and people will be happy. Because they are standing on a wrong theory, all their calculations are wrong, and people are suffering. The rascal Darwin's theory. So many, based on this foolish theory, wrong conception of life. So we have to challenge, protest. defeat. This will be our work. Our worshiping of Kṛṣṇa, that is our internal affair. The external affair—we need to establish this theory. Otherwise they'll be leading this society. Misleading. They are misleading, not leading, misleading. So we have to stop this misleading. Make program how to do it. Because it is truth, you will come triumphant. There is no doubt about it. It is truth. Now you have to know how to present the truth. That is your business. We are not presenting something theories, concocted by my brain. No. This is the fact. Rudimentarily we have got evidences, but it has to be presented by the modern ways. They are presenting some wrong principle by propaganda, and we cannot establish real principle by factual presentation? What is the difficulty?
Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:
Prabhupāda: Rat has soul, yes.
Krishna Tiwari: I know, but that's... Why, why then I can do it? When I can, or when I want them to be here, they will be here, not on the will of God. According to our concept of soul...
Śyāmasundara: If he's in the laboratory, and he's breeding rats, he's making rats have sex life and have babies, then he is controlling the souls of those rats.
Prabhupāda: He is not controlling. He is controlling the body.
Krishna Tiwari: Well, so body has soul.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:
Prabhupāda: So there is somebody above the state laws; otherwise how the state laws is made?
Krishna Tiwari: Well, I don't know which, somebody, in which sense we try to imagine it.
Prabhupāda: Why not imagine it? As soon as you say law, there must be law-giver.
Krishna Tiwari: Oh, I agree with that, but when you say law-giver, see, people get different concepts. For, for...
Prabhupāda: Why different concepts? Law-giver, just like...
Krishna Tiwari: For you, law-giver may be something, for me, law-giver may be something else.
Prabhupāda: No, law-giver is the same thing for you and me. Just like state laws comes from the government.
Krishna Tiwari: Government is nothing. This comes from people.
Prabhupāda: Anyway, there is an institution which is called government. It may be people.
Krishna Tiwari: Well, which is made by people.
Prabhupāda: But still, you, you are not controller of the state laws.
Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:
Prabhupāda: That is...
Krishna Tiwari: That's what I would say.
Śyāmasundara: That's another consideration. He merely wants to define the word "law." You're using the word "natural law." He wants to understand what does the concept mean, "law."
Devotee (1): This is an example. It's just an example.
Krishna Tiwari: Okay, I agree, but so long we understand that government is not some body from up...
Śyāmasundara: In Russia it is.
Krishna Tiwari: In Russia it is, and I don't care for it.
Prabhupāda: That you don't care for it... The point is you are under nature's law. There must be somebody who is controlling nature's law.
Room Conversation with Krishna Tiwari -- May 22, 1973, New York:
Krishna Tiwari: Can I say about my concept of God and philosophy?
Śyāmasundara: No, no, no, not that. That's speculation. Let's hear what you think...
Krishna Tiwari: Oh, it's better speculation than yours. (laughs)
Śyāmasundara: Let's hear what you know through your scientific... You say you only accept knowledge which is scientifically verifiable.
Krishna Tiwari: Oh, I never said that. I was giving you...
Prabhupāda: One thing is, that he has accepted that there is a controller of the nature. Now, what is that controller you do not know.
Krishna Tiwari: I don't know.
Prabhupāda: That's the point. So we know. That is the difference. You believe me or not, that is another thing.
Krishna Tiwari: Okay. All right.
Room Conversation with David Wynne, Sculptor -- July 9, 1973, London:
David Wynne: It seems... I, I mean I, I don't know. I've thought of it, of course, many times as every intelligent person has, but it's, my idea of God is on the consciousness of the whole world, of all that we could possibly envisage, its consciousness is, that's God, and we're the little bits of it. But would you tell me...?
Prabhupāda: Complete in everything. That is the conception of God. Complete in power, complete in knowledge, complete in beauty, complete in opulence... Everything complete. That is the conception of God. Everything complete. There is no scarcity. Everything complete, unlimited. So what is your idea of this material creation? Material means so much land, so much water, so much air, so much fire. So who created these things?
Room Conversation with David Wynne, Sculptor -- July 9, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: So you can, at any time, visit our temple. You can understand, try to understand the conception of God. We shall try to explain. But we can, at least, so far our knowledge is concerned, we have got a clear conception of God, what is meant by God. Therefore we do not accept the so-called dogs as God. No. So many people come: "I am God. I am God." We kick on their face. We don't accept. We don't accept such cheap gods. God is one, and He's all-powerful. That is our conception. We all servants of God. If anyone says that "I am servant of God," he's welcome. He's my master. The servant of God is my master. And if anyone claims to become God, I kick on his face. This is our principle. Because he's pretender, cheater. He should be punished immediately. So you, there are other papers also, published? You have seen? No.
Devotee: Are there any papers, newspaper articles?
Śyāmasundara: I'll find out, report tomorrow.
Conversation with Mr. Wadell -- July 10, 1973, London:
Mr. Wadell: Oh, yes, I agree with what you say. I am just adding another explanation.
Prabhupāda: Yes. And you cannot understand your father by any other process. This is the only process. That means things which are unknown, beyond our conception, you have to know it through the authority. Just like you know your father through the authority of your mother.
Mr. Wadell: Oh, yes, I agree. But...
Prabhupāda: But you cannot say that things which are beyond our imagination cannot be known. You cannot say that. Can be known, provided you have got the real process.
Conversation with Mr. Wadell -- July 10, 1973, London:
Mr. Wadell: Can we go back to the physician. It is possible for a physician to be wrong.
Prabhupāda: Yes, we are always in wrong because we are born ignorant. Everything is wrong because ignorant, foolish. Madman's conception. This is all wrong, childish. Therefore we send our boys, children, to school, to correct the wrong ideas.
Mr. Wadell: But some of the teachers may not be correct.
Prabhupāda: No. The process is you have to go to the teacher. But if the teacher is a cheater, then the whole thing is spoiled. A teacher must be teacher, perfect teacher. But if he happens to be a cheater then the whole thing is spoiled.
Room Conversation with Guest -- July 11, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: So what was the connection with liberation?
Guest: Ne. Because at that time there's some proud of nation and some proud of culture. He wanted to...
Prabhupāda: No, I don't think in America there was such conception. America had nothing to do with the British ruling. Rather, they declared independence from British rule.
Guest: I don't know what was the main idea of Swami Vivekananda at that time, when he preached that, this Vedānta.
Prabhupāda: No, I have read his Chicago speech. In that speech, he openly says, "Why do you care for God? You work hard, and why do you give credit to God?" Like that. Rather, one Christian priest protested...
Guest: But many times Swami Vivekananda himself went to temples and bowed down before Kālī, before Śrī Kṛṣṇa, before Śrī Bhavānī, and many other temples. He went to Kanyā-kumārī and prayed before Mother.
Prabhupāda: Hm. Distribute the prasāda. Bhagavān ka prasāda. Hm. That's all. So it is a great pleasure for us. Your Holiness visits us voluntarily. Although I could not invite you, but still, you are so kind, you came. So I am doing my bit, following in the footsteps of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. That's all.
Room Conversation with Father Tanner and other guests -- July 11, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: I don't think a... Anyway, that is dog. I... That's a crude example. But a spirit soul, when he's fixed-up in the service of the Lord, he does not bite his master. (laughter) He does not... He only serves. So we must know, if I actually love myself, first of all I know what I am. If I know, then I can properly love myself. If I do not know what I am if I think that "I am this body," oh, this conception the dog has also. He's also thinking, "I am this body." To keep this body in fitness, to eat nicely, to sleep nicely, this consciousness is there in cats and dogs. So therefore, as spirit soul, as human being, first of all you know that "Whether I am this body or something else?"
Father Tanner: But you know what you are and what you become. I hate what I am. I want to become something different.
Prabhupāda: No, that is your freedom. You can do.
Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: The one thing is they take it. Others will not take it. That is the difference. If... There is a picture; my Guru Mahārāja has..., one man has fallen in a deep well, and he's crying "Save me!" So another man dropped a rope, that "You catch it. I shall carry you." Then he'll not catch it. Then how he can be drawn. So... (break) ...mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). "There is nothing more superior than Me." We are preaching the same thing, that "You are searching after God. You are, some of you are disgusted that 'There is no God,' but here is God. You take His name. You take His address. You take His daily activities. Everything is there." And that is our mission. And we started this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement in 1966. So when I registered this society, somebody suggested that "Why not make it 'God consciousness?' " And no, I want to give definitely what is God. God, they have got different conception. But here is God.
Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: So I told him that "You have created your own god, Lenin. And we have got our own God, Kṛṣṇa. Now, the principle of accepting somebody as God is there, in your philosophy and in my philosophy. So that you cannot avoid. Your communistic philosophy cannot avoid the conception of God, the leader." Just like in Buddha philosophy also, there is the conception of God, of Lord Buddha.
Buddhist Monk (1): No. That's not correct. Because we do not treat the Buddha... In fact, when the Buddha preached his atheistic philosophy... That's why he was termed a nāstika, a wasala. We do not believe in a god. We say panya, wisdom, and dharmuddha, is an incompatible...
Prabhupāda: At least, you follow the leadership of Buddha.
Room Conversation with Two Buddhist Monks -- July 12, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: So that is, I am pointing out. Leadership,... God means "the leader." According to Vedic injunction, God means "the supreme leader." Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13). He is the chief living entity. Mayādhyakṣeṇa prakṛtiḥ sūyate sa-carācaram (BG 9.10). God means the Supreme Leader. So leader you have to accept. That is the conception of God. Either you select Buddha or Lenin or somebody else, you have to accept one leader and follow. That is your business. So our philosophy is that Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, He's the Supreme Leader. And we are to obey His orders. This is our philosophy. So if you do not obey the orders of Kṛṣṇa, if you obey the orders of Lord Buddha, or somebody obeys the orders of Lenin, the principle is there that you have to follow the orders of somebody. Now, you select Lenin, Kṛṣṇa or Buddha or Gandhi or anyone. That is a different thing. But the principle—to accept one leader and follow his leadership—is there everywhere. That nobody can change. That is not possible. So the professor could not give me any satisfactory answer, you see. The leadership you have to accept. You cannot do anything independently. You have to accept. That is our constitutional position, that we have to follow somebody. Now you select whom you shall follow. If you are following the most perfect, then you become perfect. And if you are following less perfect or imperfect, then you are imperfect. This is our philosophy. You have to follow some leader. If your leader is perfect, then you are perfect. If your leader is not perfect, then you are also not perfect.
Room Conversation with Malcolm -- July 18, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: Sādhu means titikṣavaḥ: he's very tolerant because a sādhu has to face so many opposing elements and sometimes very offensive, but he has to tolerate. Titikṣavaḥ. At the same time, kāruṇikāḥ, very merciful. The same man who is torturing him, torturing him, he is trying to convince him about Kṛṣṇa. That means very merciful. He's not rejecting. Although he's torturing him, but he's trying to convince him, Kṛṣṇa. Therefore kāruṇikāḥ. And he is not friend of any particular society or man. Suhṛdaḥ sarva-dehinām. He is well-wisher of all living entities. It doesn't matter whether he's Indian, American, or black and white. No, no conception. Or even human being or animal. He is kind to everyone, friend, well-wisher of everyone. Ajāta-śatravaḥ. He does not create any enemies. Such... These are the qualifications of sādhu. Śāstra means the transcendental literature, not ordinary writings. That is śāstra. Just like Bhagavad-gītā is śāstra, Veda is śāstra, or Bible, śāstra. Scripture means given by God or His authorized representative. That is śāstra. So sādhu-śāstra-guru. And guru means who is completely devotee of Kṛṣṇa without any material motives. This is sādhu-śāstra-guru.
Room Conversation -- July 19, 1973, London:
Revatīnandana: (break) Is it possible that if he was... This is a question that sometimes a devotee has asked me. If a yogi does attain a Vaikuṇṭha planet, but by his constitutional nature he is meant to be associated with Kṛṣṇa in Goloka...
Prabhupāda: No, why not with Viṣṇu. Vaikuṇṭha is Viṣṇu, Nārāyaṇa. That is also... But there Nārāyaṇa is worshiped with awe and veneration. He is God. No friendship as in Vṛndāvana. That is not possible. Vipralambha-sakhya. Aiśvarya, aiśvarya, opulence. There the Supreme Lord is taken in aiśvarya, opulences. Not aiśvarya-sthiti. In Vṛndāvana the devotees, they practically do not know that Kṛṣṇa is God. "He is our very beloved friend." That's all. They doesn't care to know whether He is God or not. Here the conception of God. Vaikuṇṭha, "Oh, here is God," with awe and veneration, respect.
Revatīnandana: That I understand. The question is suppose this yogi, he has not got full knowledge, he does not know of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore he is meditating on Paramātmā, and he attains Vaikuṇṭha. Is it possible that because he hadn't got full knowledge...
Prabhupāda: No, he has to go, simply by Paramātmā conception, he cannot go to Vaikuṇṭha.
Revatīnandana: Can he later go on from Vaikuṇṭha to Goloka? Can that happen also?
Prabhupāda: Yes, there is such instances, can go.
Room Conversation with Lord Brockway -- July 23, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: Not only men, all living entities.
Lord Brockway: Oh, yes, I mean men in the human aspect. Men and women are the sons and daughters, the children of God. I would say two things about that, that I think that those who sincerely have that conviction can be inspired to serve the coming of the brotherhood of mankind, but in experience I would not limit it to those who have that experience. And I find in life that many people who do not have religious convictions at all have a humanist conception which leads them to be very active for peace in the world, a human brotherhood, compassion, and all those characteristics which you have described as the capacities of those who share your religion. And in life they will express that even if they have the deeper recognition which you have described. I think the third thing that I would say about what you have said is this: it may be, I do not know, that there is a form of life after death. I don't know. I think if there is, the best preparation for it is service to one's fellow human beings in our present life.
Prabhupāda: Yes, but one thing is...
Lord Brockway: Yes?
Prabhupāda: ...that whatever service you render, because this world is of three qualities, the service will be, of course, of three qualities: goodness, passion, and ignorance. These are described there.
Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:
Mother: But you don't need brain if you're not going to study or to do anything further. If you just sit and sleep like...
Prabhupāda: No, we are studying. Because we are preaching, we are studying that. The animal eaters, they cannot have any conception of God. The brain is so dull.
Mother: What about your children? Where do they? Do they go to school?
Prabhupāda: Why not.
Mother: Are they edu...? Do they go to schools, your children?
Prabhupāda: They have now grown up. My grandsons are going to school.
Mother: Well, I didn't mean yours in particular. I'm talking now of all of you. I'm not talking of you particularly. I'm talking of all of you. All your children, the married devotees...?
Prabhupāda: Yes, our children, we have got our own school. All these boys, they have got their children. They are gṛhasthas, householders. So we have got our nice school at Dallas, very big school.
Garden Conversation with Mahadeva's Mother and Jesuit Priest -- July 25, 1973, London:
Prabhupāda: That, that I was trying to explain, that nobody can understand God and God's conception, being sinful.
Jesuit Priest: There's a vacuum created, and so they'd rather take it up in...
Mother: It's very extraordinary, though, that every boy that I have spoken to here...
Prabhupāda: Yes. So that is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā: yeṣāṁ tv anta-gataṁ pāpam... (BG 7.28).
Mother: ...have all taken LSD or drugs of some kind.
Prabhupāda: ...janānāṁ puṇya-karmaṇām.
Room Conversation with Mister Popworth and E. F. Schumacher -- July 26, 1973, London:
Revatīnandana: The distinction between killing a cow and cutting off a cauliflower from a plant. He said, "Both are alive." Yes, both are alive. But what is the psychological state of a cow, and what is the psychological state of a cauliflower plant? Practically speaking, he has no psychology. No senses, no mind, no ability to feel elation or suffering. But a cow is a completely different condition. Cow is very nearly to human consciousness. Practically the next birth after a cow, according to the Vedas, is a human birth. So you're putting so much suffering unnecessarily. But he had no sense, not... An intelligent man who can sense that "If I suffer, I don't like it," then when he sees another living entity put into suffering, he thinks, "How I could avoid that suffering for that living entity, because I don't like to suffer." But this gentleman had no conception. He's...
Prabhupāda: There is one moral instruction by Cāṇakya Paṇḍita. Cāṇakya Paṇḍita was a great minister during the time of Mahārāja Candragupta. So he was honorary Prime Minister in the empire. So he has a book of moral instruction. So he says in that moral instruction, who is a learned man. So he gives the description of a learned man, that: mātṛvat para-dāreṣu. Mātṛvat. "Just treat all other women except your wife as your mother." Mātṛvat para-dāreṣu, para-dravyeṣu loṣṭravat. Loṣṭa means as there are so many pebbles lying on the street, you don't care for it, similarly, others' property, others' money you should treat just like these pebbles lying on the street or the garbage lying on the street. Don't touch it.
Room Conversation with Cardinal Danielou -- August 9, 1973, Paris:
Bhagavān: People were very interested. Our spiritual concept of soul, he spoke on.
Cardinal Danielou: Yes. It is a... Personally I like very much Hinduism. And I have a brother, (indistinct), it is my brother, who is a specialist on Hinduism...
Bhagavān: Yes, his brother has written a very great book which is known all over France...
Cardinal Danielou: Especially on Indian music, Indian music. He live many years in Benares.
Prabhupāda: Benares.
Cardinal Danielou: Benares. Fifteen years. Fifteen years in Benares.
Prabhupāda: Oh, he was in fifteen years?
Cardinal Danielou: Oh, yes, a very long time.
Room Conversation with French Nun -- August 13, 1973, Paris:
Prabhupāda: ...ordinary son. And he's powerful son.
Yogeśvara: ...question. She asks what is the difference between our understanding of reincarnation and the Christian concept of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Christ said he would come again. Is there a difference? Is it the same thing?
Prabhupāda: I don't find anything.
Yogeśvara: There was this gentleman this afternoon who was asking you about people who are constantly, constantly being tested by all kinds of miserable circumstances. She asks: Is it not a sign of a soul that God has chosen to favor that he sends them such miserable conditions of material life?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Devotee, in miserable condition, they accept it as a favor of God.
Morning Walk -- August 30, 1973, London:
David Lawrence: Oh, I see, yes. Completely beyond one's experience.
Prabhupāda: Yes. No, especially of the Mr. Frog, Dr. Frog. He has never seen what is Atlantic Ocean and somebody informed him, "Oh I have seen such a vast mass of water." "Oh, is it bigger than this well?"
David Lawrence: Yes, beyond his conception.
Prabhupāda: These people are like frogs rotting in the well, and what they can understand of the Vedic knowledge?
David Lawrence: Yes. One of the themes, really, that interested me was this yearning, certainly it was true amongst the Jews, to return to a rural background, you know, to a rural sort of setting. I wondered if you felt much of the Vedas was in fact a firm belief an affirmation if you like, that the most true form of life, the most pure form of life is one that's lived alongside nature, not against nature as we seem to be doing in our urban setting.
Prabhupāda: What, I don't...
Śyāmasundara: In the Jewish tradition, they yearn for a life of living on farms, villages, small communities with cows and agriculture.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- December 4, 1973, Los Angeles:
Hṛdayānanda: If someone is Kṛṣṇa conscious, then...
Prabhupāda: Yes, because he learned from Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam, na jāyate na mriyate vā..., na hanyate hanyamāne śarīre (BG 2.20). So we are... Kṛṣṇa consciousness means you are taking what Kṛṣṇa says. Therefore... (break) And then you judge in your own way, you'll find, "Yes, it's all right." Avināśi tu tad viddhi yena sarvam idaṁ tatam. At the present moment, because your, these blunt eyes cannot see the soul, you have to learn it by appreciation. Avagama. It is called avagama.(?) Appreciation. Just like Kṛṣṇa says that tad viddhi, that, that thing which is spreading consciousness, that is soul. Now you can perceive there must be something which is now absent, otherwise why there is no consciousness? Where is the difficulty? If you do not see, you can't understand it. Just like the same example, when good aroma is carried. So somebody says, "This good aroma is coming because the air passing through a flower garden, therefore this aroma." Now this is a fact, but you cannot see the aroma or the air. But you hear from an experienced man. That is the way of understanding which is beyond your sense perception. But these rascals, simply they are depending on their blunt senses, these stupids, so-called scientists. Therefore they're stupids. They simply believe on their eyes. They do not know how much defective these eyes and senses are, incomplete. That they do not know. They believe on their defective senses. Akṣaja. Akṣaja, akṣ... Experiment. Everything experimented. Veda says don't try to explain which is beyond your sense. How you will explain? It is not possible. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet. It is acintya, it is beyond your conception. Why you are wasting your time?
Morning Walk -- December 5, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Acintya, acintya, yes, acintya. Acintya potency, even you have got acintya potency. That I have already explained. Because we are part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, therefore there is pinch of acintya, inconceivable potency, in us also. Harer nāma harer nāma harer nāma... (CC Adi 17.21).
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Do we have any specific reference?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Jīva Gosvāmī. Jīva Gosvāmī has stated that unless we accept acintya, inconceivable energy, there is no conception of God. There is no conception of God. If you bring God to your conception, he's not God.
Umāpati: Acintya, acintya-bheda is a unique contribution of Vaiṣṇavas to the concept of God.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Actually, that is the fact. We cannot explain what is God. We have to accept what is God from God.
Yaśomatīnandana: Avaroha.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Yaśomatīnandana: Avaroha process?
Prabhupāda: Yes, not ava... Yes, avaroha process. Yes, thank you. Here Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). We have to accept that. Mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). So "There is no more superior authority than Me." Harer nāma harer nāma... (CC Adi 17.21).
Morning Walk -- December 8, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Why they should be hesitant? That is their foolishness. We see comparative, superlative, in our experience.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They say the concept of God is just imagination.
Prabhupāda: Imagination? That is atheism. Why imagination? This is the definition of God, that in these six items-richness, beauty, wisdom, strength, influence... So we see, practical world, that there are superlative, comparative. So when it comes to the topmost superlative degree, that is God.
Karandhara: They have a system which they call scientific integrity, which, roughly translated, means anything they can't perceive through their gross senses they can't accept as being a fact.
Prabhupāda: This is... Anyone can... Any child can accept. What is that?
Karandhara: Well, they say, If there was a God, He would be perceivable to everyone, whether they believed in Him or not, He would be so obvious.
Prabhupāda: Yes, it is available. This is common formula, that we see comparative study of these six opulences. When it is topmost, that is God.
Morning Walk -- December 8, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: He did it. There is a mention in the history.
Karandhara: George Washington didn't do anything which was out out out of the conception of belief.
Prabhupāda: No, out of conception, he had no power to do it. He had no power to do it.
Hṛdayānanda: Who's conception?
Karandhara: Their conception.
Prabhupāda: No, he had no power to do that, neither you have the power. That is the difference between you and God.
Yaśomatīnandana: In other words, "If God is like me, then I'll accept him as God, but if he's not like me, then he is not God."
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- December 8, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prajāpati: There's a large group today, Śrīla Prabhupāda, called humanists and they have decided that this concept of God is not very useful. We can solve all the problems ourselves.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. These are rascals. You see, humanists, they are professing humanists and they are killing so many human beings daily. You see? These are all escapism. What is called? Escaping? They could not find any, I mean to say, solace and now humanity... What they can do? There are so many people suffering in the human society. What they can do? Suppose they are opening hospitals. Is that guarantee for a cure of disease or no death? Then what is the humanity. You cannot do anything. You may advertise yourself, " I have opened so many hospitals and beds." But what you can do? Is that guarantee that there that there will be no disease and everyone will be cured, nobody will die. Then what is the humanitarianism. You cannot do anything.
Morning Walk -- December 9, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Gap of understanding because the basic principle is wrong, because everyone is fool. And they are trying to understand things with their foolish background. There is the wrong. They are trying to be advanced in knowledge on the foolish background. They do not accept that, that they are foolish rascals. And they are trying to advance in knowledge, active-foolish, fourth class men. Their background is wrong. No scientist, no politician, no philosophers, at the present moment, believe in this, that there is soul, and the soul is transmigrating from one body... Nobody believes it. So their whole background is foolish. So their so-called advancement must be all foolish. They're all fools, rascals, animals. An animal does not know that there is soul and the soul is transmigrating from one body to another. This is animal conception. You cannot teach these pigeons that "You are spirit soul. Your body's different from you." They will, they have no power to understand.
Room Conversation with Latin Professor -- December 9, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: I see. So... Oh, you have no seat? They are giving him? All right. So from Bhagavad-gītā we understand that Bha... Just like in this planet we are so many persons, or the President Nixon is the President. Similarly, in every planet there are living entities, and the President of the sun planet is called Vivasvān. So he was instructed by Kṛṣṇa long, long ago. In the higher planetary system, the time is different. That was proved when the Russian aeronautics were on the sky. In one hour twenty-five minutes, he went round the earth, twice or thrice, like that. So time is different. So the point is... Just like the sunshine is impersonal, the sun is localized, and the president of the sun globe is a person, similarly, the Absolute Truth is realized in three phases. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). The first realization is impersonal, then localized, and then personal. So ultimately, God is person. And that is Kṛṣṇa. So we are hearing directly from the Supreme Personality of Godhead about Godhead, and that is perfect knowledge. If you speak yourself about yourself, that is my perfect knowledge of yourself. And if I simply speculate that "Professor may be like this, like that," that is not perfect. I am speculating, but if you come to me, "Swamiji, I am like this," then my knowledge is perfect. Otherwise, I can go on speculating for millions of years. Still, my knowledge is imperfect. So we cannot manufacture God; neither we can speculate. That is not possible. But you can get some idea, but there is no possibility of getting perfect knowledge of God. God is unlimited. I am limited. So my speculative knowledge is limited. So how I can understand the unlimited by my limited knowledge? That is not possible. We can make little progress, and that is impersonal understanding. The perfect understanding is that He is person, all-powerful, all-mighty, all beautiful, all-wise, all..., everything perfect, six opulences: riches, strength, influence, beauty, knowledge and renouncement. These are the six opulences. And God is complete. This is conception of God.
Room Conversation with Latin Professor -- December 9, 1973, Los Angeles:
Professor: For me, and I suppose, for so many others, the difficulty is getting from the intellectual willingness to accept the notion of God and even to get beyond a kind of fleeting intuition from time to time that there is something beyond the humanistic world conception to a real inner understanding of that reality. And I suppose that is what your work is all about, to...
Prabhupāda: Yes. God is... God is beyond our intellectual platform. (door opens) Come on. Hare Kṛṣṇa. So Professor, give him some seat. He'll stand?
Śrutakīrti: I sent someone out for a chair, but he hasn't found one.
Prabhupāda: And what is that? Good morning. Hare Kṛṣṇa. There are three stages. First stage of understanding is direct perception, by senses. Indriyāṇi parāṇy āhuḥ. In the Bhagavad-gītā you'll find. Here, from the material platform, our source of knowledge is direct perception. That is crude, pratyakṣa. It is called pratyakṣa. That is crude knowledge, direct perception. Just like I am seeing the sun. I am getting some idea of the sun, but that is not the perfect idea, although I am seeing it daily. I am seeing just like a disc, but it is very, very big. So my direct perception cannot give me perfect knowledge.
Morning Walk -- December 10, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prajāpati: Śrīla Prabhupāda, throughout the Western theology, there is a conception of the wrath of God, God's anger at man's disobedience or his unwillingness to follow God and live by God's commandments.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Prajāpati: But in our literature we find Kṛṣṇa has some transcendental pastimes of anger, but that He does not, it is man's own reaction activities, that bring upon destruction. How are these two...?
Prabhupāda: No. All the qualities that we find within this material world, all of them must have come from God. If there is wrath within this material world, it must have come from God because God is the origin of everything. That is the Vedānta-sūtra. Brahman, Absolute Truth, means the source of everything. Whatever we have got experience within this material world, everything is there in God. That is perfection of God. You cannot say, "This thing is not in God." So aiśvaryasya samagrasya. Everything is there. Just like Kṛṣṇa stealing as a child. But apparently sometimes He does something which is not very moral. So this immorality, the so-called immorality, it is there also. That is the full conception of God. He's not lacking in anything. Under the circumstances, God is in wrath, that is correct. But that is not His only characteristic. He has got mercifulness also. Everything is there. That is God. Therefore as theologician, you should understand the correct conception of God. They have no complete conception of God. Now, God is described in the dictionary as the Supreme Being. Is it not?
Hṛdayānanda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- December 10, 1973, Los Angeles:
Hṛdayānanda: Everyone agrees on that.
Prabhupāda: Yes. So what is the conception of "Supreme"? That you have to define. What is the conception of Supreme? How do we accept here in this world, a person supreme? What is the conception of supreme? No...
Prajāpati: No one equal to or greater than.
Prabhupāda: No, that you cannot find here in this material world. Anyone has relative position. Everyone will find somebody is greater than him, somebody is lower than him. He's not absolute, nobody. A rough estimate of supremacy: if one man has got, is very rich, he's considered great. If he has got influence, if he has got bodily strength, bodily beauty, wisdom, or renunciation... These are the six items for calculating a man's greatness. Therefore when you speak, "God, the Supreme," He must possess all these things. That is the definition given by Parāśara Muni. The other day we were discussing. Somebody said, "This is all imagination." Why imagination? Who was telling?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Scientist.
Morning Walk -- December 10, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: So two opposite things. But both of them got the same result. Kṛṣṇa thought that "I have sucked her breast, so she is My mother. She must go to the same destination as Yaśodā Mā." Just see. That is His enmity. And that is absolute. In our relative world, we can see so many differences in the dealings of God, but He is absolute, one. That is conception of God. Advaita. Advaita. Advaita means absolute. And... Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam (SB 1.2.11). Again advayam. You may conceive God as impersonal or localized Paramātmā or Bhagavān—the same thing. But due to our, I mean to say, meager knowledge, we are thinking, somebody's thinking that His personality is greater than impersonality and somebody's thinking impersonality's greater than personality. This is our conception. He's the same. Vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam (SB 1.2.11). Not different. Not different. But one who has reached to the conception of personality, he has got all the others. That is the difference. So you write. You are theologician. You write about God so that people may understand how our students are enlightened. Other so-called foolish theologicians may learn from you. You take the ideas and explain.
Morning Walk -- December 12, 1973, Los Angeles:
Nara-nārāyaṇa: Actually, when they formed the country and made the constitution, the concept was they were basically they believed in God, but they were afraid that some religion would become politically powerful and disturb the...
Prabhupāda: So what does...? But that means they do not understand what is meant by religion. They are thinking religion means some fanatical faith. They are meaning that. That is the whole world conception of religion. But actual religion we are now preaching, actual, what is religion. Religion means... Just like Kṛṣṇa says, sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekam: (BG 18.66) "Give up all rascal religion. Surrender unto Me." So who is a sane man who will deny, "No, I don't surrender to God"? Who is a sane man? He must be insane. Anyone who says that "I don't like God, I don't like to surrender unto Him," then he must be insane. He has already surrendered. He is going on under the condition of surrender, but it is not done very... Just like a prisoner. He is already surrendered to the government. Still, he says, "I don't care for government." This is the position. He's a madman. The state arrests him, kicks him, and puts him in the jail. Still, he says, "I don't care for government." So what can be done? "We don't care for the government." Just like Gandhi started civil disobedience movement, disobedience to the government laws, but all the whole stock was put into jail and they were beaten with shoes. But still, they said, "No, we are..." This is an example. Similarly, everyone is obeying, surrendering to God. But because they are rascal and fools, they are denying that we have surrendered. This is their position, madness. nobody can stay without surrendering to God. It is not possible.
Morning Walk -- December 13, 1973, Los Angeles:
Svarūpa Dāmodara: When the concept of chemical evolution, when this fails, then they have to accept that there is a Supreme Being. This will also fail.
Prabhupāda: No, this will fail. It is already failed. But because they are...
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, but they are still hoping.
Prabhupāda: ...they are fools and rascals, they are still hoping against hope. That's it. It is already failed.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: They are not fully convinced yet.
Prabhupāda: Because they are not intelligent. There is a Bengali word, dekhe sekhe teke seke. (?) Mean when one who is intelligent, he is seeing the things, he is understanding, "Oh, the consequence of such action is this." So... And another man is so fool. Unless he is actually in that position, he will not learn. One is learning by seeing only and another is learning by actually being in that position. So who is intelligent?
Yaśomatīnandana: One who is learning by seeing.
Morning Walk -- December 15, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: There is no God. Then what do you mean by God? Next question. Next question will be what do you mean by God?
Candanācārya: So he'll say the conception which has been presented by the different religions.
Prabhupāda: What is your conception? Why do you go to different religions? You are talking with me. So you say, what do you mean by God? Next question will be this. Don't go to others. Don't fly away. You are atheist. You are posing yourself atheist. Atheist means one who does not believe in God. That's all right. Now what do you mean by God? First of all the thing must be there. Then you believe or not believe next. Just like here is a person. He says, "I believe in him." I say, "I don't believe in him." But the person is there.
Karandhara: Well, he'll say, "God is just an idea."
Prabhupāda: Idea?
Karandhara: Yes. But ideas don't always represent facts.
Prabhupāda: So idea is there. You say that it is not fact, but others say it is a fact. So how it will be mitigated? How it will be settled? "God" word is there. You say that it is an idea.
Morning Walk -- December 15, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: And if the light is little more brilliant, that means finished. If the same light becomes little more brilliant, that means finished, fall down immediately. It is a big aeroplane? (break)
Prajāpati: Several years ago you gave a series of lectures in New York on atonement, that are very famous, and devotees, they relish them very much. Prāyaścitta. And this is also in Christian theology to a large extent, plus another concept called feeling very sorry for one's sinful activities.
Prabhupāda: Repentant. Repentant?
Prajāpati: No so much repentance. It is called...
Karandhara: The classic idea is that one goes away and just lives in a state of remorse, solitude and remorse, thinking how sinful and wretched he is, and performing severe austerities.
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Karandhara: Going away, living in a monastery, performing severe austerities, and always contemplating how sinful and wretched we are and how we must suffer.
Prabhupāda: Everyone is suffering. But one who knows that he is suffering, he is intelligent. (Aside): Good morning. Everyone is suffering. If you are not suffering, why you have covered? Why you have covered? Because you are suffering, is it not? Why you are not naked body? Because we are suffering, therefore we have covered. It is a fact. And if somebody says, "No, we are not suffering," then he's a madman. So everyone is suffering. One who knows it, he is intelligent man. That's all.
Morning Walk -- December 15, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prajāpati: In the early days of this movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda, in New York, devotees said they did not know how to treat Your Divine Grace. They did not know your exalted position. I think we are still very much offensive.
Prabhupāda: No, I am servant. I have no exalted position. Servant. Caitanya Mahāprabhu sat down in a place where people were washing their feet. Yes. (break) ...a representative of Kṛṣṇa. I came to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and Kṛṣṇa has sent so many representatives to help me. I consider like that. Without your help I could not do. So I wanted Kṛṣṇa's help, so Kṛṣṇa has sent you. Therefore you are representative of Kṛṣṇa. That is my conception.
Morning Walk -- December 16, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Because they are not leader, perfect leader. With imperfect knowledge they become leader. Therefore we... Our process is to accept a leader who is perfect. That is our process. And the others, fools, they accept a leader who is not perfect. But either we or they, they must accept a leader. The only difference is that we accept the perfect leader and they accept the imperfect leader. Therefore they are cheated.
Prajāpati: They will not accept the conception of perfection. They say, "We do not accept this term perfection."
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because they are fools, therefore they are fooled. Unless there is conception of perfection, why do you change leader? Why do you make revolution?
Prajāpati: The lesser of two evils.
Karandhara: They accept the conception, but they don't accept the reality of it.
Prabhupāda: No. Reality, because they do not know. They have been always been misguided by rascals. Therefore they cannot think of that there can be perfection. This is called skepticism. Because everyone is faulty, therefore there is no knowledge. This is skeptism. But real knowledge is that as I see this man is intelligent that man, that man is intelligent than that man, therefore there is an ideal intelligent man which we could not find. And that is God. Sarva-kāraṇa-kāraṇam (Bs. 5.1).
Morning Walk -- December 16, 1973, Los Angeles:
Karandhara: So they say, "Well, we cannot see God." But they could not see the people in those past days either.
Prabhupāda: No. You cannot see the government, but when things are going nicely, you must accept, there is government. That is... When things are going on very nicely, regularly, the sun is rising regularly, the moon is rising regularly, the seasons are changing and the waves are flowing, everything, then you have to accept that there is government. And as we have got experience here in this material world... Government is impersonal, but that at the end there is a president. Similarly, the whole government, the complete government, may be impersonal in the beginning, but at the end there is a person, that Supreme Person, Bhagavān. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). Yes. Paramātmā is representative of God. Just like the president has got so many representative governors, similarly, Paramātmā is the localized representative of God, and God is person, and the whole government is impersonal. This is the conception. When we say "government," you cannot localize that "Who is that person, government?" That is impersonal. But when we find governor, then localized persons. And then above them, all of them, when there is president, he is supreme person. This is our practical example. Similarly, nature is working impersonally, but there are officers. They are called demigods. And above them all there is the Supreme Lord. He is Bhagavān. And this idea wherefrom has come? The president, the governors, and the government. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). It has come from there. Because of the origin, the same thing is there.
Morning Walk -- December 16, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: Well, but somebody said.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is just like the concept that if God is all-merciful, why He is so impartial, somebody making happy, somebody making suffering?
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is mercifulness. Just like when doctor says, "You don't take anything today. You fast," that is mercy. That is mercy. It is good for him. By starving, he will be cured. That is mercy. And according to Manu-saṁhitā, when a man is hanged, that is mercy. If he is hanged... He has committed murder. He should be hanged so all his sinful reaction finished. Otherwise next birth, he has to suffer. He has to be killed by somebody else.
Morning Walk -- December 18, 1973, Los Angeles:
Prajāpati: If we were there and we could make one speech in front of that assembled Congress and Senate, the main government of the United States, what were the main points we would stress?
Prabhupāda: Yes. The main point is that "In God we trust," on this slogan... So the same point that, "What do you mean by God and what do you mean by trust? That you do not know." So you have to explain what is God and what is trust, thoroughly, from our books. Our point of propaganda should be that "It is very good that you write this slogan, 'In God we trust,' but nobody has got clear conception of God; neither they do not know what is the meaning of trust. Under the circumstances, so you have to learn it scientifically. And our propaganda is like that, to teach actually what is God and what is trust. And you important men of the state, you come forward, try to understand, and open schools, colleges. Make it perfectly known what is God. And make America strong. As the Communist party, they are preaching godlessness, now America should preach, 'No, in God we trust.' Now there should be a fight, not on the political point of view, but actually it includes everything. A class of men godless and a class of men who knows God. There should be fight.
Morning Walk -- December 18, 1973, Los Angeles:
Girirāja: Their speaking power, that they are making their political speeches, that is also given by God.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Girirāja: At any moment it can be taken away. So they are under control. But they will raise the point that "We have our concept of God and you have your concept of God."
Prabhupāda: No. God cannot be "your God" or "my God." God is one. You cannot say that. Just like you cannot say in the United States that "your concept of president, my concept of president." President is one. If you manufacture your concept of president, that means you do not know what is president. President of United States, he has got a status, constitution, that "This is the president." So you must know that. You cannot say, "I have my concept of president." That you cannot say. Can you say that?
Girirāja: No.
Prabhupāda: Then? The president is one. Either you don't know or I don't know. So we must know what is that president. This is first point, what is God.
Morning Walk -- December 21, 1973, Los Angeles:
Karandhara: Another very prominent... He's a psychiatrist and a theologian. His name is Menninger. So about ten years ago he wrote a book that the conception of sin and evil was unnecessary, and one should give up considering that some things are sins. Now he just wrote a book saying that he was wrong, that since he has promoted this theory everyone is degrading, and that the theory of sin and evil should be maintained to keep the people in good order.
Prabhupāda: So these rascals will change every year their theology. So what is the value of their words? Childish. (break) ...changes, he is a rascal. That is our... We say, "Kṛṣṇa the Supreme." We never change it. And "Surrender is the only process." We shall never change it. In any circumstance we will not change it. That is the difference. And these rascals will change every year their opinion. They are rascals. (break) ...They are rascals. (break) Kṛṣṇa said that "I am the Supreme." So Arjuna accepted, the Supreme. All the ācāryas accepted the Supreme. Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted, Supreme. My Guru Mahārāja accepted, Supreme. I am accepting, Supreme. I am teaching the same thing. So there is no change. Not that after a few years it will be changed. That never be. That is our position. (break) Changing means material. Anything material is susceptible to change. Like this material body. I am changing my body, but I am the spirit soul. I am not changing. That is the difference. So all these so-called theologicians, they have no idea what is spiritual knowledge. All rascals. They cannot understand what is God. That I have explained. Simply speculating. It will not help. (break) (Hindi) (some Indian people have joined the walk) Now we are talking of one theologician. Some years ago just... Narrate the... Yes.
1974 Conversations and Morning Walks
Morning Walk -- January 11, 1974, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: ...therefore they see that this, their conception of Kṛṣṇa, there is mother, there is father, there is friend—"So what is this? Here also we see the mother, father, friend. So how they become free?" They cannot understand. Their brain is so poor they cannot understand. Therefore they: "It is also māyā. To think of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme, having father, mother, friends, playing pastimes, this is also māyā." Therefore they are called Māyāvādīs. They cannot conceive that in the spiritual world exactly the same things there are, but the position is different. That is absolute, without any designation.
Morning Walk -- February 17, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Śānta, dāsya, sākhya, vātsalya, and mādhurya.
Dr. Patel: Mādhurya-bhakta is the best. Like gopīs. But that is very difficult to be.
Prabhupāda: No, best, it is just one's conception, you see? Otherwise, all are best. All are best. But śānta-bhaktas do not take Kṛṣṇa very intimately.
Dr. Patel: (laughs) You are... You take me below the belt.
Prabhupāda: Yes, śānta-bhakta means the bhakta who appreciates the greatness of the Supreme, but does not take Kṛṣṇa as very intimate. That is śānta-bhakta.
Dr. Patel: How can, ah, can you imagine God without taking Him very intimately? These are two, I mean...
Prabhupāda: No, no. Just like... Intimately... Just like I can give this example, that you have got a great regard for me, but not as intimately as my other disciples.
Morning Walk -- February 20, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Yes, he interpreted like that.
Bhava-bhūti: So same Māyāvādī concept.
Yaśomatīnandana: That is also Radhakrishnan who said that battlefield of Kurukṣetra is just a battle of soul and something...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- March 23, 1974, Bombay:
Dr. Patel: Wife and others.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ. And land, "This is my country, this is my home, this is ijya," bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ. Ijya means worshipable. As all these leaders, so-called nationalists, they are under the concept of this body, and their country, their home, is worshipable. Bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ, yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). (break) Now...
Dr. Patel: And Hindus... (laughs)
Prabhupāda: Go vā kharo vā. The same thing. Go is little useful because it supplies milk, and kharaḥ is useful. You overburden him.
Morning Walk -- March 24, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: They tolerate. Actually, they tolerate because they factually think that "I am not this body. Let the mosquito bite my body."
Dr. Patel: (laughs) So mosquitos also have no body.
Prabhupāda: Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, deha smṛti nāhi yāra saṁsāra bandhana kaha tāra (?). One who is beyond the conception of bodies, he has no obligation of these material things. Just like there are many sādhus, they simply remain naked body. Even in severe cold. They are practiced.
Dr. Patel: They have reached that avadhūta-veṣa.
Prabhupāda: So this is also avadhūta-veṣa.
Dr. Patel: But that stage you must reach.
Prabhupāda: No, somehow or other, they have gone to some extent. Never mind the mosquito. Let bite. I am not this body."
Morning Walk -- March 24, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktaḥ **, it is said. Sākṣād-dharitvena samasta-śāstrair uktas tathā bhāvyata eva sadbhiḥ **. And this principle is accepted by great saintly persons. Kintu prabhor yaḥ priya eva tasya. He's not one with the Prabhu, but he's very dear servant of Prabhu.
Dr. Patel: That is right.
Prabhupāda: That conception is Vaiṣṇavism. And as soon as you simply say that "He is God," that is Māyāvāda.
Guest (2): Yes but we are not... But he has wrongly...
Guest (1): No, Swami Nārāyaṇa, what I told you the principle of Swami Nārāyaṇa is that...
Guest (2): Swami Nārāyaṇa...
Dr. Patel: You have no right to speak.
Guest (1): No, no. What I understand about this...
Dr. Patel: There are three schools of Vaiṣṇavism. But that... In that school, the preaching and everything in the worship is the same, more or less.
Prabhupāda: (break) The thing is... This is the conclusion, that guru may be worshiped as Kṛṣṇa, but the worshiper knows that "I am worshiping my guru not because he has become Kṛṣṇa, but he is the most confidential servant of Kṛṣṇa." That is Vaiṣṇava.
Morning Walk -- March 30, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Without śaktimān. (break)
Devotee: "...bodies, he attains to the Brahman conception. Thus he sees that beings are expanded everywhere." That's the same verse. But what does this mean, "thus he sees that beings are expanded everywhere"?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Everywhere there is living being. (break)
Dr. Patel: ...avyayaḥ, śarīra-stho 'pi kaunteya na karoti na lipyate.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Here is the... Śarīra-stho 'pi. Because it is said Paramātmā and jīvātmā, they are, both of them are in this body, that does not mean the Paramātmā has become like jīvātmā. Or jīvātmā has become Paramātmā. This is nonsense. Although śarīra-stha, he doesn't, he's not affected by the pains and pleasures of this body. That, that is, that is the defect of this daridra-nārāyaṇa philosophy, that although He has entered the body of a daridra, it does not mean He's affected by the quality of the daridra. But they are thinking, "Oh, Nārāyaṇa has come as daridra. Let me give something." This is their philosophy. That means Nārāyaṇa is now affected with this daridrata. (break)
Morning Walk -- April 2, 1974, Bombay:
Dr. Patel:
- na mat sthāni bhūtāni
- paśya me yogam aiśvaram
- bhūta-bhṛn na ca bhūta-stho
- mamātmā bhūta-bhāvanaḥ
Prabhupāda: Yes. So this is His inconceivable potency. Everything is resting on Him. Without Him, there is nothing. Nothing can exist. Still... The same argument comes again, that because the dog or the anything is resting on me, it does not mean I am dog. Daridra, he is resting on me, that does not mean I am daridra. Yes. This is the... This is wrong conception, misleading people. This kind of coined word, simply misleading people.
Dr. Patel: Na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni.
Prabhupāda: Yes. I have nothing to do with daridra. He is suffering of his own karma.
Dr. Patel: But here a little difficulty for me. Here on the first line He says, mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni (BG 9.4). Second line He says, na ca mat-sthāni bhūtāni paśya me yogam aiśvaram.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes. Therefore, na ca mat-sthāni: "Although I am there, I am not there." That is inconceivable, simultaneously not also, just to warn these people that although Nārāyaṇa is within the daridra or the dog, that does not mean I am dog or I am daridra.
Morning Walk -- April 22, 1974, Hyderabad:
Prabhupāda: "Whatever it may be, when I offer my prayers, I remember there is some God. I may not have clear idea. I have got my own conception of God." So what is the answer?
Satsvarūpa: Well, there are symptoms if you... We don't discourage, as Pañcadraviḍa Mahārāja says, but if you are following God, the best religion is that which develops love of God.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is answered. "If I haven't got love for God, then why I am coming to church?"
Pañcadraviḍa: If you have love for God, why you are coming to church?
Prabhupāda: No. "Because I have got love for God, therefore I am coming to church. At that time I could have earned some money."
Morning Walk -- May 3, 1974, Bombay:
Bhāgavata: They were not śuddha-sāttvika. They were only sāttvika.
Prabhupāda: Yes, on the sāttvika. Yes, you are right. One has to go above the sāttvika position, śuddha-sattva. Sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditam. From Vasudeva conception, the Vāsudeva comes out.
Dr. Patel: Now, after the śuddha-sattva form that you get...
Prabhupāda: That is vasudeva-sattva.
Dr. Patel: Then you are the real devotee.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- May 9, 1974, Bombay:
Prabhupāda:
- na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇuṁ
- durāśayā ye bahir-artha-māninaḥ
- (SB 7.5.31)
They are captivated by the external energy. They think by material advancement they will make solution of all problems. That is not possible.
- andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānās
- te 'pīśa-tantryām uru-dāmni baddhāḥ
He does not know that he is bound up, hands and legs, by the laws of nature, and he is trying to solve it by his own method of material civilization. That is the mistake. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ, ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā (BG 3.27). They are all vimūḍhas, mūḍhas, duṣkṛtina, mūḍhas. (Hindi) (break) He asked me, "What is the conception of hell?" I said, "It is your London. By artificial way you have kept it as heaven. But otherwise, it is hell." So this was published.
Room Conversation with Irish Poet, Desmond O'Grady -- May 23, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: Mortal.
O'Grady: That which dies, rots and is forgotten.
Prabhupāda: That is some conception, mortality. Mortal? Mortality is not absolutism. So long you are mortal, you are not on the absolute platform because you are actually immortal. That is stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit. Find out. Na jāyate na mriyate vā kadācit.
O'Grady: But is there anything wrong with accepting the fact that you are mortal, you die, you rot and you become nothing?
Prabhupāda: No. That is the polluted conception. Actually you are immortal; you do not die. That is your position.
Room Conversation with Irish Poet, Desmond O'Grady -- May 23, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: Actually... Just like you are sitting in a different dress; I am sitting in a different dress. So the dress does not affect our actuality. We are human being. Similarly, the conception of body—"I am Irishman, I am Englishman, I am Hindu, I am Muslim, I am Christian,"—these are different dresses. So one has to become free from these designations.
O'Grady: Accepted.
Prabhupāda: So when one is free from the designations, then he becomes purified.
Room Conversation with Richard Webster, chairman, Societa Filosofica Italiana -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: Modern.
Richard Webster: I was not a specialist in medieval or anything. So it seems to me that...
Prabhupāda: What is the conception?
Richard Webster: They have some basic conceptions which are eternal in, the same way as your own, perhaps.
Prabhupāda: In the Vedic literature we have information, two eternals. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. It is personally identified. "There is one chief eternal, and there are many other eternals." So then it means the chief eternal is God, and other subordinate eternals are living entities. Just like we are all living entities. We are in different forms, but we are eternal. The form is not eternal, but the owner of the form is eternal. And similarly, the chief eternal is God.
Room Conversation with Richard Webster, chairman, Societa Filosofica Italiana -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: In the Vedic literature we have information, two eternals. Nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām. It is personally identified. "There is one chief eternal, and there are many other eternals." So then it means the chief eternal is God, and other subordinate eternals are living entities. Just like we are all living entities. We are in different forms, but we are eternal. The form is not eternal, but the owner of the form is eternal. And similarly, the chief eternal is God. That is described in the Vedas,
- nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām
- eko yo bahūnāṁ vidadhāti kāmān
- (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 2.2.13)
In this way. So the chief eternal is the maintainer of the many subordinate eternals. This is the idea of God and the living entities. So we are dependent eternals or the the predominated eternals. And there is another eternal, chief eternal, who is the maintainer of all these eternals and who is the predominator. We are predominated. This is the conception of Kṛṣṇa consciousness philosophy.
Room Conversation with Catholic Cardinal and Secretary to the Pope -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: Yes. Our movement is that, that is first-class religious system which teaches how to love God. This is the sum and substance of our movement. There is a Sanskrit statement in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
- sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo
- yato bhaktir adhokṣaje
- ahaituky apratihatā
- yayātmā suprasīdati
- (SB 1.2.6)
If you want to be happy, then you must take to the superior type of religious system which teaches the followers how to love God without any motive, and which is never checked by any material condition. God's name is given here as Adhokṣaja. Adhokṣaja means beyond experimental knowledge. God has got many name according to different situation, and one of the name, for the materialistic person, adhokṣaja. Akṣaja means experimental knowledge. Akṣa means eyes or senses. Beyond sense perception. So we cannot speculate about God, but we can understand about God from authorities. This is the conception of Bhāgavata-dharma.
Room Conversation with Catholic Cardinal and Secretary to the Pope -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Monsignor Verrozano: In our Christian faith the love of God is joined with the love for man. Are you also interested with this love for man, for our rivals?
Prabhupāda: No, love for man... Let me say it. Love for man is imperfect conception because God is for everyone. God is not monopolized by simply the human society. The animal society, the bird society, the tree society, they are all living entities, soul. According to our karma, they are differently dressed. That is the most important philosophy, that soul is part and parcel of God. Somehow or other, the soul is now separated from the service of the Lord, and according to his desire of enjoying this material world, he has been offered different types of body. So either human being or animal or trees or aquatics, birds, beasts, everyone, all living entities, they are all part and parcel of God. That is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā. Sarva-yoniṣu kaunteya sambhavanti mūrtayaḥ.
Room Conversation with Catholic Cardinal and Secretary to the Pope -- May 24, 1974, Rome:
Prabhupāda: That's it. So from God's standpoint of view, we cannot take simply that simply to serve the human being is to serve God. Another point is that living entities, the service, according to Sanskrit conception, service is offered to the superior. And to the inferior, mercy. There are two words. Sevā, the Sanskrit word, sevā, and dayā. You know something of Sanskrit?
Monsignor Verrozano: Somewhat, yes.
Prabhupāda: Seva means service. So service is offered to the superior. And to the inferior or subordinate, we offer our compassion. So similarly, as we are eager to give service, similarly, we should be eager to be compassionate. So it is not very good idea. Just like in India they say, daridra-nārāyaṇa. Some nation, that to give service to the human being, and cut the throat of the animals. This philosophy is not good.
Morning Walk -- May 27, 1974, Rome:
Yogeśvara: There was a report in the New York Times that last year alone in the United States there were over 300,000 abortions, and more than two-thirds were performed on girls under twenty years of age.
Prabhupāda: Yes, this is civilization. Poor girls, they are victims. These rascals are enjoying without any responsibility of marriage. And sex impulse is very strong between thirteen years up to thirty years. So people take advantage of it, and the poor girls become victim. So many anomalies. This is a doggish, demonic civilization. This is not civilization at all. They are not interested. They do not know what is the aim of life. First mistake is that "I am this body." This is doggish. Just like the dog is barking. He is thinking, "I am a big dog here. Don't come." Similarly, if a man thinks, "I am a big American, I am great Englishman," then what is the difference? The dog is also thinking like that. And Vedic civilization says, "No, you are neither dog nor human being." Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: "I am spirit soul." This is Vedic civilization. One is being trained up to understand this philosophy, that "I do not belong to this, any material condition. I am Brahman part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa." Where is that conception?
Bhagavān: Now they have... the other day in the paper that India exploded its first atomic bomb.
Prabhupāda: Yes, and therefore yet it has become very great.
Morning Walk -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Yogeśvara: Well, they say "You are distributing food, and we are also distributing food. You are opening schools, and we are also opening schools."
Prabhupāda: Yes. But we are opening school for Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Therefore the rascals, they cannot understand what is bhakti and what is karma. Bhakti looks like karma, but it's not karma. It is bhakti. They cannot understand what is bhakti. Bhakti means the same karma, but for Kṛṣṇa's sake. That is bhakti. Just like the same fight, battlefield, but because it was done for Kṛṣṇa, Arjuna is accepted, bhakto 'si priyo 'si me: (BG 4.3) "You are My devotee. You are My very dear." But what did he do? His business was to fight. He fought, that's all. But fought for Kṛṣṇa. That is the secret. He did not change his fighting capacity as a warrior. But he changed his mentality. His mentality was that "Why shall I kill my kinsmen?" But Kṛṣṇa wanted, "Oh, that's all right." So therefore service is for Kṛṣṇa. That's all. Not for his sense gratification. Karmī means sense gratification, and bhakta means Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification. That is the difference. Sense gratification is there. When you do it for your personal sense grati..., it is karma. And you do it for Kṛṣṇa's sense gratification, it is bhakti. So therefore they look similar, but the quality is different. Harer nāma (CC Adi 17.21). Dhare prema nāma. The gopīs, they acted like prostitutes, but the center was Kṛṣṇa. Therefore Caitanya Mahāprabhu recommends, ramyā kacid upāsanā vrajavadhu-vargena ya kalpita (?): "Oh there is no more better mode of worship than it was conceived by the gopīs." What is their conception? Prostitution, that's all.
Morning Walk -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Prabhupāda: That is Māyāvāda. That is Māyāvāda. They have no conception of the eternity of bhakti. That is Māyāvāda.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: Will the change in heart come about for such persons because they're somehow associated with Kṛṣṇa?
Prabhupāda: Just like Kaṁsa associated with Kṛṣṇa always, their position is like that. That is not bhakti. Bhakti is ānukūlyena kṛṣṇānuśīlanam (CC Madhya 19.167), favorable, not to reject Kṛṣṇa or kill Kṛṣṇa, and think of Kṛṣṇa, "How to kill Him? How to kill Him? How to kill Him?" That is also Kṛṣṇa consciousness, but that is not favorable. Therefore it is not bhakti. But they get the salvation because they have some way or other thought of Kṛṣṇa. Impersonal salvation. They are not allowed to enter into the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa.
Room Conversation -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Prabhupāda: Very good idea. Therefore I said Jesus Christ is son of God, so what he says and what Kṛṣṇa says, there is no difference. This has become a hackneyed slogan, "poor feeding." To do to the humanity—and cut the throat of the animal. What is this philosophy, nonsense philosophy? They have no conception of God. If he has got conception of God, then everyone—paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ (BG 5.18). Oh, why for the benefit of the human being, other animals' throat should be cut? Even they have no common sense. National. National means one who is born in that land. That is national. So why the animals born in that land, they are not national?
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: You used a very nice example, that the children, they are ignorant but that does not mean you kill them.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Is there any meaning, "Oh, these are foolish children creating trouble, so I will kill them"? What is this?
Room Conversation with Robert Gouiran, Nuclear Physicist from European Center for Nuclear Research -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Robert Gouiran: I... Do you mean that matter grows starting from a spiritual seed, something like that?
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Robert Gouiran: If we, if we speak in scientific terms, there is an immaterial concept called the energy.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The spirit soul is also energy, and matter is also energy. Two energies, when they contact, the, the so-called expansion of matter takes place.
Robert Gouiran: Yes, and we could study in our laboratories the passage from energy to matter and back from matter to energy. It's what we call...
Prabhupāda: Matter is also energy.
Robert Gouiran: ...materialization. The process of materialization.
Prabhupāda: No, now, first of all, let us understand what is matter and what is spirit. Spirit is also energy, and matter is also energy. The matter, when it comes in contact with the spiritual energy, then it grows. Otherwise, it does not grow. Therefore the growing process depends on the spirit. Take this example, my body, your body. The spirit soul when it is in the womb of the mother, then it grows. The abdomen of the mother grows out. But if the spirit soul is not there, then it will not grow. There are many sex intercourse, but if the spirit soul is not there, the sex intercourse will not turn into pregnancy. Do you realize this?
Robert Gouiran: Yes.
Room Conversation with Robert Gouiran, Nuclear Physicist from European Center for Nuclear Research -- June 5, 1974, Geneva:
Prabhupāda: That is perfection.
Robert Gouiran: Just to be clear about what is the scientific concept of anti-matter...
Prabhupāda: This is the scientific concept of matter. The matter grows from spirit. How you can deny it?
Robert Gouiran: I don't deny this. What I'm...
Prabhupāda: Then this is scientific. That I have already explained. So the, the supreme source of everything is Kṛṣṇa.
Morning Walk -- June 8, 1974, Geneva:
Guru-gaurāṅga: That man yesterday wanted to know if we collaborated with other groups.
Prabhupāda: Yes. There is collaboration. We are proposing this collaboration. All religion, they're after... Religion means to accept God. So if you accept God, we accept God. Then where is no cooperation? This is cooperation. But if you don't know what is God, we know. That is the difference. Ask this Christians, Mohammedans, and any other religious group, they have got a conception of God, ask them what is the form of God, what does He do, what is His..., so many things. They do not know. But we know.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: They simply say He is spirit.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That's all, vague idea. We say, "Here is God." So if you actually believe in God, why don't you take this God and the whole, all different types of religions become one? If you accept God, then we say, "Here is God." So where is the point of difference? How do you differ? Why do you say that you are different religion, my religion? Why do you say, "My religion"? Everyone... This is the only religion: to know God and love Him. What is their objection? To accept God, Kṛṣṇa? What is their object? What is their reason?
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: They want to gratify their senses.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: In another place it is said asaṁśaya, that is in the Eighteenth Chapter. So to go back to home, back to Godhead, is very easy, but people will not take to it. They are stubborn; they will stick here, the miserable life, material life. This is the difficulty. Otherwise, God can be achieved very easily. Man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru (BG 18.65). Four things.
- yoginām api sarveṣāṁ
- mad-gatenāntarātmanā
- śraddhāvān bhajate yo māṁ
- sa me yukta(tamo mataḥ)
- (BG 6.47)
The first-class yogis. Actually no education required. Simply God has given us the tongue and the ear. So it's Hare Kṛṣṇa, tongue, and hear with the ear. Śruti-gatāṁ tanu-vāṅ-manobhir: by hearing, the sound enters into the heart. In this way you become purified, mind is cleansed, ceto-darpaṇa-mārjanam (CC Antya 20.12). It is very scientific and very easy. And we are recommending—"we" means Caitanya Mahāprabhu—He says that "You chant the name of God." Now, if somebody thinks "Kṛṣṇa is Hindu God, why shall I chant?" it doesn't matter. You chant your conception of God. What is the name of God in Christianity? Is there any name?
French Man: Jehovah.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: Huh? That is Muslim.
Priest: Allah.
Prabhupāda: Allah akbar. So what is the conception of God of the Christian?
Priest: As you said, it's impersonal, trans-personal, what we explain by that Trinity. It's a relationship. It's a pure relationship.
Prabhupāda: Yes, relationship means that He must be a person.
Priest: No.
Prabhupāda: Why? Otherwise how you can...
Priest: It is beyond a person.
Prabhupāda: Beyond the person... Just like we have got experience: when you call relation, then relation means we consider master and servant. This is also one relation.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: But not anything, but father. As the father gives the maintenance, bread, so you go to God in that relationship, "Father, give us our daily bread." Just like the child asks the father, "Father, give me something to eat." So this is clear relationship father and son.
French Man: No, it's a very complicated system, the system for all these things in the (indistinct) of this country. There are two main conceptions—the Oriental conception of the Orthodox Church and the Western...
Prabhupāda: No, we are not talking of any particular church. We are just trying to understand the word relation. If you go to particular church, then another will give another church, another will give another church. But we are trying to understand the word relationship. So in the Bible it is clearly said, "O Father," so the relation is father and son.
Priest: No.
Prabhupāda: Why do you say? It is said in the Bible. Why do you say no?
Priest: You have to... I am not in relationship with any church or any dogma. This is what I have in my own experience, and I cannot speak of what others have experienced but what is my own experience.
Prabhupāda: No, no, God's relationship should be universal, not that... It may be a different relationship. Just like the relationship between husband and wife, relationship between father and son, relationship between friend and friend, relationship between master and servant, so these are relationship. We understand relationship means this. And it is particularly said in the Bible, "O Father." That means the relationship is as between father and son.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Jyotirmayī: He said that in the Christian philosophy that the conception of God as the person, the personal God, and God as the divine essence. So he is asking...
Prabhupāda: God is person, then? What did he say?
Jyotirmayī: Then he said that so is it not that God, the person, this divine essence, is a superperson, an evolved person, and not exactly somebody impersonal. Like he said that in Śaṅkarācārya's philosophy there is the conception of tat. So is not this tat conception, this divine essence, this superperson...
Prabhupāda: Yes, He is divine essence. God is divine essence, just like you have volumes of milk and you churn it, then you get so much butter. So the butter is the essence of the milk. Similarly, the spirit is vast, all-pervading. The example, another example, is just like the sunshine universally spread, very big. Then you concentrate the sunshine, it is sun globe. And if you still concentrate, you will see within the sun globe there is sun-god. So he is the essence of this light, the sunshine light, the sun globe light, and the person—sun-god, Vivasvān, he is person—he is the essence among all this light. That is explained in the Brahma-samhitā, yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi (Bs. 5.40). The whole creation means expansion of the bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa. Yasya prabhā prabhavato (Bs. 5.40). By expansion of the bodily rays of Kṛṣṇa, this Brahman, yasya prabhā prabhavato jagad-aṇḍa-koṭi-koṭiṣv aśeṣa-vasudhādi-vibhūti-bhinnam, tad brahma (Bs. 5.40). That Brahman. Brahman is..., just like the sunshine is the expansion of the bodily rays of sun-god.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: Kṛṣṇa is God. Kṛṣṇa is God. God is the idea of greatness. That is Brahman. Or you can say also person, but not the particular person. God means, the Sanskrit word is īśvara, the controller. So everyone is controller to some extent. In his own atmosphere he is a controller, as I am controller of my disciples. So the conception of God is there, but I am not the Supreme God. Therefore, there are two words. We use the word "Godhead," "the Supreme God." That is explained in the Brahma-saṁhitā, īśvara, God. Everyone is God; that is another thing. But īśvaraḥ paramaḥ, the Supreme God, is Kṛṣṇa.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Priest: Have you got any French literature of conception (indistinct).
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes.
Bhagavān: French literature. He's asking for French literature.
Jyotirmayī: He translated the Tukārāma in French.
Prabhupāda: Tukārāma. Tukārāma is great Vaiṣṇava devotee of Maharastra. His movement was saṅkīrtana movement.
Devotee: He was the one who was initiated by Lord Caitanya?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Room Conversation with Christian Priest -- June 9, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: Muhammadanism also Vaiṣṇavism, because Muhammad says, "I am servant of God, Allah." So that is our conception, dāsya-rasa, dāsya. Śānta, dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, mādhurya. So prayer, offering prayer, that is also bhakti. Śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam arcanaṁ vandanam. Just like we are worshiping Deity and somebody is offering prayer—both of them are approved. Prayer, vandanam. Dāsyam sakhyam ātma-nivedanam. So we don't say that this is bad and this is good. No. Both of them are bhakti. To worship the Deity or to offer prayer, the effect is the same. Effect is not different. Either of these nine processes,
- śravaṇaṁ kīrtanaṁ viṣṇoḥ
- smaraṇaṁ pāda-sevanam
- arcanaṁ vandanaṁ dāsyaṁ
- sakhyam ātma-nivedanam
- (SB 7.5.23)
Either you follow all the nine principles or eight or six or seven, at least one, then you become perfect. That is our preaching. Just like Akrūra, the example is given. Akrūra got perfection simply by offering prayers. So I see when the Christian go to the church, in India I have seen, in Bombay especially, they kneel down and offer prayer. That's very good. We do not say that this is not approved. This is also approved.
Morning Walk -- June 10, 1974, Paris:
Devotee (3): Everyone thinks in terms of their own relative position.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Even an insignificant bird, because he knows swimming, he knows swimming, so he can (indistinct). Because you do not know swimming, you cannot say like that. Even insignificant bird, just see how nicely he is swimming. He knows the art. Everyone, cent percent of the modern people, they do not believe in God and they do not know what is religion. That is the position. They think religion is sentiment, anyone can manufacture his own sentiment, there is no God. This is going on. So we are in fault. It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss. The whole world is under this conception; therefore we are at fault, we are preaching God consciousness.
Room Conversation -- June 11, 1974, Paris:
Bhagavān: Or like the politicians, they are afraid to speak because they are afraid that they will be voted out or get no more money to support their...
Prabhupāda: Yes. They're after money. So they are less than śūdras. That is the cause that Christianity has fallen down, that they cannot speak straightly, or otherwise... It is straight commandment, "Thou shalt not kill." And because people are killing, they're... Now they are give man-to-man marriage, what to speak of other things. The priests, they are sermonizing this man-to-man marriage. Just see how degraded they have become. Whether any conception... At least, outside America, nobody knows that a man can be married with another man. What is this? And they're supporting it. You know that?
Bhagavān: Yes.
Prabhupāda: So what is their standard?
Room Conversation with Monsieur Mesman, Chief of Law House of Paris -- June 11, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: At the present moment, the people in general, they are engaged in service, in factories, in big, big office, big, big establishment. So they're all śūdras, fourth-class men. And the fourth-class men select their representative. So they must be also fourth-class. Democracy means selected, I mean to..., voted, elected. So because they are being elected by the fourth-class men, the leaders are also fourth-class men. The fourth-class men cannot appreciate the first-class men. And there is lacking of second-class men. So the result is that at the present moment, the whole world is being managed by the fourth-class men. Therefore, there are so many anomalies.
Pṛthu-putra: He says this concept is against the...
Yogeśvara: "Traditional western capitalism..."
Pṛthu-putra: The traditional western capitalists.
Yogeśvara: It is against capitalism, this idea?
Prabhupāda: No. It is the movement to qualify men to their respective positions. It is an educational system to divide first-class, second-class, third-class, fourth-class. They all required, but at the present moment, the fourth-class man is occupying the first-class man's place. We want to divide the society into real first-class, second-class, third-class... They're all required, but they have got their respective positions, not topsy-turvied. As the, as to keep the body fit, we require the head, the hands, the belly and the legs. If we simply keep legs, it is useless.
Room Conversation with Roger Maria leading writer of communist literature -- June 12, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: But you cannot think, you cannot think of religion. Our conception of religion is different. (French for some time)
Prabhupāda: Where are Satsvarūpa and Karandhara? Where gone? They do not want to hear? They have become...?
Bhagavān: They're calling Africa.
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Bhagavān: They may be on the phone with Africa. I'm not sure.
Jyotirmayī: So he said that here in France, the Christians, they are now reviewing their own Christianity, their own philosophy, because they see that the materialistic people, they are giving critiques, and they are right in their critiques. So they are changing their religion.
Yogeśvara: In other words, he's saying that religion has to be defined according to the way the mass of people accept it.
Prabhupāda: That is not religion. That is sentiment.
Room Conversation with Roger Maria leading writer of communist literature -- June 12, 1974, Paris:
Pṛthu Putra: He says the western or the Christian religion are marked by dogmatists and they are very...
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Pṛthu Putra: And they have imperialist conception.
Prabhupāda: Hm?
Yogeśvara: He says that western religions are narrow-minded, that they don't have the openness that the religions of the East have in India, for example. And that the West has this capitalist, imperialistic tendency which is also supported by its religion.
Prabhupāda: No. First... Therefore I asked what does he mean by religion.
Morning Walk -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Yogeśvara: If the devotee is fearless, how is it Prahlāda was expressing his fearfulness of the material nature?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Even you are fearless, you should not be fool. Because, if you know that "There is danger, I must be very careful," that is intelligence. That is not fearfulness. Besides that, a devotee like Prahlāda, he's fearless, but he's fearful for others. That is stated. Just like the mother. She knows that she'll not catch fire, she'll not fall down in the water, but she is always anxious to see her child that the child may not fall into the water, may not catch fire. She's working in her own way, but always fearful of the child. Similarly, a Vaiṣṇava, he's not fearless for himself, but because he's sympathetic, because he knows that all these rascals, they are wrongly wasting their time, therefore he's anxious, fearful. Para-duḥkha-duḥkhī. They are unhappy by seeing others unhappy. For themselves, there is no unhappiness. That is their grace. And Vaiṣṇava is fearless, even if he's sent to hell, he's not unhappy. Because wherever he goes, he'll chant Hare Kṛṣṇa. So actually he has no fear, fearfulness. He is only unhappy... Just like we are talking. Others may think that we are criticizing, but we are actually talking. Suppose this, one who has manufactured this big park and he has, next life, he has become contaminated, the dog's life, then what is the use? How you can guarantee that you are not going to be a dog? It is under the management of material nature, maram (?), very powerful. Just like even a big man like Napoleon, he's also under the control of material nature. As soon as the time is... "Get out." "No, I want to finish this arch." "No, sir, you get out." Then where is your powerfulness? That they do not know. For the temporary power, they become puffed up and go to hell. That's all. But they have no conception of hell. These are primitive ideas.
Room Conversation with Russian Orthodox Church Representative -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: So in the Vedic language, one who has taken this body as self, yasyātma-buddhiḥ kuṇape tri-dhātuke (SB 10.84.13), and sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu, and own men, the family, society, community, national, not outside that, sva-dhīḥ, "They are my own men." sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma-ijya-dhīḥ, and the land of birth worshipable, nationalism, yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicit, and holy place, to take bath in the water of Jordan or Ganges, such persons are considered as go-kharaḥ. Go means cow, kharaḥ means ass. That means animals. What is your conception of the soul? Do you believe in the soul? (French)
Yogeśvara: He understands English.
Church Representative: I understand. My conception of soul?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Church Representative: Could you (sic:) precise your question, because what do you mean by this...
Prabhupāda: Soul...
Church Representative: Yes, I know... I cannot say that I know what is soul. I know that there are souls, that I have a soul. But I think that it's very difficult to give adequate... (French)
Yogeśvara: He says he knows that he has a soul, but he thinks it would be hard to give an accurate definition of the soul.
Prabhupāda: But if he knows what is soul, where is the difficulty to give definition?
Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: Because he has no information what is spiritual desire, he thinks material desire is as good as spiritual desire. (French)
Karandhara: They don't have a conception of spiritual. To them everything is material.
Prabhupāda: No, it is ignorance. Just like a man is suffering from disease. He is also lying down. He is also eating. He is also passing stool. And if he is informed that "After your disease is cured, you will also nicely sleep, you will also nicely walk, you will also nicely eat," but he is thinking, "Again eating? Again sleeping? Again...?" This is something like this. "So I don't want to be cured."
Karandhara: Yes, that's actually the psychology behind Zen philosophy.
Prabhupāda: That is the trouble, yes. He does not know what is the sleeping in healthy condition and what is the eating in healthy condition. He thinks this eating and that eating the same.
Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Yogeśvara: He says it's an idea that he finds difficult to understand, spiritual form.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that requires knowledge. That requires how to get that knowledge. He has no such knowledge. (French)
Karandhara: You explain to him the basic difference between the Buddhist concept and our concept is that after the material, the ignorance of the material body and the material self, is cleared away and eliminated, there is still a self. There's still a body, but it's spiritual. It's opposite from material. Whereas the material body is simply temporary and liable to suffer, the spiritual body is eternal and never suffers. It's just the opposite of material. Buddhists go towards... They get to the point of eliminating the material, but then they don't, they don't have the next step, or the spiritual.
Prabhupāda: No understanding of the spiritual.
Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Pṛthu Putra: He says the concept of Zen is to see spirituality in matter and something material in spirit, in spirituality. That is the concept of Zen, to realize spiritual life according to matter.
Karandhara: What that means... That's just an expression of the idea that everything is ultimately one. You don't have to make value judgments, you shouldn't make value judgments or say one thing is better than the other, that everything is ultimately the same, and the self is also the same as everything. So there's no distinction and there's no objective or conscious awareness of anything because everything is everything.
Yogeśvara: There's no discrimination.
Karandhara: Yes, there's no self. (French)
Pṛthu Putra: He says in the daily life there is varieties. If something wrong, we do something right. But when we are speaking about spiritual elevated life, everything is one.
Prabhupāda: Yes, when the spirit is gone, then your daily life is also gone. (French)
Pṛthu Putra: He says yes, for sure, we all die.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Therefore daily life means so long the spirit is there. As soon as the spirit is gone, there is no more daily life.
Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Pṛthu Putra: He says he doesn't give any special meaning to Buddha. Sometimes Buddha is with them, sometimes Buddha is a concept of God like the Christianity they call God, or Buddha is all this disciplic succession. He doesn't give any special meaning to the word Buddha.
Prabhupāda: No, no, buddha, actually buddha means knowledge, "one who knows," that is the meaning. So that is existing always. Now, we are talking your (sic:) Jain Buddha. Jain Buddha. No? What is the...?
Karandhara: Zen. Zen's a later development. The school of Zen started...
Prabhupāda: So we are trying to study this Zen Buddha. Buddha means, ordinarily, knowledge. Budhā bhāva-saman... (break) (French)
Karandhara: The Zen school is a liberalization of the old Buddhist doctrines. Previously, hundreds of years ago, to completely follow the Buddhist path one had to renounce all activity. He had to go away from civilization and live in hermitage. Zen...
Prabhupāda: Nirvāṇa. Finish everything.
Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Karandhara: They say the aim is the practice itself. Just like we say the aim of devotional service...
Prabhupāda: No, no, the aim is there. Aim is there. He says that to become desireless. That is the aim. So why does he say that there is no aim?
Pṛthu Putra: When he is talking about practice, he's talking about special practice, the zazen practice. And his concept in zazen, his concept of Buddha, is this disciplic succession, that to practice under the guidance of the spiritual master of this disciplic succession of zazen from Buddha. That is his practice.
Prabhupāda: No, if he says that "There is no aim; you go on practicing," so aim is there, he says, that to become desireless. (French)
Pṛthu Putra: He says zazen is in himself the satori, is the practice. We don't practice to get the satori, but the satori is going automatically with the practice.
Prabhupāda: No, no, the aim of practice is to become desireless. Is it not? (French)
Pṛthu Putra: He says the goal of the practice is to become without goal.
Prabhupāda: Oh, it is nonsense. (chuckles) What is this nonsense? Goal is without goal. Then what is this? These are vague terms.
Room Conversation with Mr. Deshimaru -- June 13, 1974, Paris:
Prabhupāda: That you say they have got; he does not say. You say.
Karandhara: No, but I mean philosophically considering, they have an aim, but it's very obscure. The substance and the significance of that aim is without form or conception.
Prabhupāda: So without aim, what is the use of practice? (French)
Pṛthu Putra: He says he likes the practice without goal, and he doesn't give any value to the practice because there is goal.
Prabhupāda: That is foolishness. Without goal, practicing something, it is foolishness. (French)
Karandhara: No, he is also working for a goal. He just differs semantically with what we say.
Prabhupāda: No, he does not know what is that goal. No, he does not know what is that goal.
Morning Walk -- June 14, 1974, Paris:
Paramahaṁsa: It seems, the more we strive to push the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement forward, the more māyā puts obstacles in the way to stop us.
Prabhupāda: Yes, but as soon as you become strong, naturally there will be more enemies. That is natural. Therefore last night I said, "If there is no understanding of God, where is religion?" This is not religion, the cheating. There cannot be any conception of religion without conception of God. Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Dharma means the law given by God. So if you have no idea about God, where is your religion? Religion does not mean some formalities. No, that is not religion. Formalities we have also, but we have clear conception of God. Here is Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
Devotee: Prabhupāda, what does it mean when we say, "Philosophy is for fools"?
Prabhupāda: Philosophy for the fools? Who says? Another fool? I think this rascal Guruji says. Does he not?
Yogeśvara: Yes, he says, "We have no philosophy. We just give the experience."
Prabhupāda: You are all fools. You are all fools. Therefore you have no philosophy. You cannot understand philosophy.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:
Prabhupāda: From the ant, a small living entity. And similarly, Brahmā, his past, present, is different because he has done millions and millions of years as one day. So the time is eternal, but according to our condition, occupying the time and space, we calculate past and present and future. Otherwise time itself is eternal.
Professor Durckheim: Well, now I question you. You see, talking about eternity, there are two meanings or concepts at the same time. The one is that the finite life is going on infinitely, infinity, millions of years. That is one way to think about eternity.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Professor Durckheim: But there is another one.
Prabhupāda: Eternity means, we say, no beginning no end. That is eternity.
Professor Durckheim: Isn't there also this other one, when, for instance, Christ says, "I am before Abraham was," this "I am." There is one kind of eternity which has nothing to do with past and future at all, which is beyond past and future.
Prabhupāda: Past and future is concerned with this body.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:
Prabhupāda: Just see. Material nature is the mother. Material nature gives the body. But the soul is part and parcel of God. A soul is given, impregnated in the material nature, and they come out in so many species of life. How easily it is explained. So self-realization we explain that samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu, equality to all living entities. But because they have no spiritual knowledge, they think that humanitarian work means to give all facility to the human being and not to the animals. We are talking of nationalism. National means anyone who has taken birth in that land. That is the definition of nationalism. But they are taking care of the human being who has taken birth in that land, but poor animals, they are being slaughtered. This is their nationalism. So all, everything is going wrong account of wrong conception of life. And that wrong conception of life is that "I am this body." But when we understand that "I am not this body; I am the active principle within this body," then this misconception will go out. That is the beginning of spiritual realization, or self-realization.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:
Professor Durckheim: That this goes together. (German)
Prabhupāda: Yes. So the thing is that if my life is based on false conception that "I am this body," so the bodily appreciation of beauty or any other thing, that is also false. That is also false. If I am not this body, then anything conceived in relation with this body, that is false. (German)
Vedavyāsa: He says that usually we see the body in connection with beauty or health. But there is another possibility, to use the body as a transparent medium to conceive the Absolute Truth.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is explained here. Jīvasya tattva-jijñāsā. That means with this body you should not waste your time like the birds and beasts but utilize it for inquiring about the Absolute Truth. That is reality.
Room Conversation with Professor Durckheim German Spiritual Writer -- June 19, 1974, Germany:
Prabhupāda: But you cannot do good to others because you do not know what is good. (German)
Prabhupāda: You are thinking of good in terms of your body, but body is false. Therefore the conception of goodness is also false. (German)
Dr. P. J. Saher: I cannot accept that the body is false.
Prabhupāda: No, no. I withdraw that word false. But it is not you. It is false in this sense, that you are accepting this body yourself, but that you are not. (German) Just like...
Dr. P. J. Saher: But I live my identity with the body.
Prabhupāda: With the body. But the body is false, false in this sense, that you are not this body. You are simply... Just like I am occupying this apartment, but I am not this apartment. I am different from this apartment. This is understanding. So if you take interest of the apartment and you forget yourself, that is false. (German) If I simply decorate this body, apartment, and I don't eat myself, then what is the... This is false attempt, that we are trying... This is called. In the Bhāgavata it is said that aprāṇasya hi dehasya mandanaṁ loka-rañjanam. Now, this body, just you or I, everyone, we are nicely dressed. But if the life is gone from the body, if you dress the body, is that very good intelligence? You have understood? That I am dressing, so long my life is there, I am dressing very nicely this body, but when the body is dead, if you dress the body or somebody or your relative dresses nicely, it is very good intelligence? (German) (break)
Vedavyāsa: ...example of this comparison with a room and the body is not very good because he says...
Prabhupāda: But because he does not know that he is not this body.
Room Conversation with Reverend Gordon Powell, Head of Scots Church -- June 28, 1974, Melbourne:
Satsvarūpa: "Purport: Birth, death, old age and diseases affect this material body, but not the spiritual body. There is no birth, death, old age and disease for the spiritual body, so one who attains a spiritual body, becomes one of the associates of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and engages in eternal devotional service, is really liberated. Ahaṁ brahmāsmi: I am spirit. It is said that one should understand that he is Brahman—spirit soul. This Brahman conception of life is also in devotional service, as described in this verse. The pure devotees are transcendentally situated on the Brahman platform, and they know everything about transcendental and material activities."
Reverend Powell: "Transcendental" means spiritual, does it?
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Reverend Powell: As opposed to material. And...
Prabhupāda: So they are always engaged in transcendental devotional service.
Reverend Powell: Always.
Prabhupāda: Always. Then they'll be freed from birth, death, old age and disease.
Room Conversation with Bhurijana dasa and Disciples -- July 1, 1974, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: This is the beginning of spiritual life, to distinguish between the soul and the body. One who does not understand that there is soul, there is no spiritual education because he is animal. The animal does not know that there is soul. A dog thinks, "I am this body." So this is the beginning of spiritual education. Therefore Kṛṣṇa instructs first this thing. Everyone is acting on the conception of body as self. She has also gone, your wife?
Bhūrijana: No, she will come back.
Prabhupāda: We... Our work is on that platform, dehino 'smin yatha dehe kaumāraṁ yauvanam jara tatha dehāntaram (BG 2.13), dehina, not the deha, dehi. We are not working on deha. Deha means body. And dehi means the owner of the body. So our this Kṛṣṇa consciousness is about the activities of the owner of the body, not the body. But the whole world is going on on acting on the body. That is the difference. Therefore it takes very, very, long time to understand. Those who are thinking, "I am this body..." One who knows that "I am not this body; I am soul, spirit soul," then his spiritual education... They do not know what is spiritual education. What do they mean generally, spiritual education?
Morning Walk -- July 9, 1974, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: That's all. You are taking something else while thinking something else. That is cheating. Actually, we see the so-called religious system... Religion means to become lover of God. But who is lover of God? Do not know what is God, and what to speak of love Him. They do not know, have no clear conception of God even.
Jayatīrtha: They are lovers of dog.
Prabhupāda: And actually they are lovers of dog. And still, he's professing "I am religious." This is not cheating.
Hṛdayānanda: Yes, it's cheating. Imposter.
Prabhupāda: Sa vai puṁsāṁ paro dharmo yato bhaktir adhokṣaje (SB 1.2.6). Unless one becomes a devotee of God, there is no question of religion. It is all cheating. By opening hospital, schools,... There are thousands upon thousands upon thousands upon thousands of years, the hospitals and schools are being opened, philanthropy. What is the result?
Bali Mardana: Atom bombs.
Morning Walk at Marina del Rey -- July 12, 1974, Los Angeles:
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, but they don't say it is magic.
Prabhupāda: No, no. It is magic for him because he cannot produce so much water. In the laboratory he can produce water just to fill up a test tube. But wherefrom this water came? That is magic.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: It is so much beyond their concept that they just, they just don't want to think about it.
Prabhupāda: Means, that is animal propensity. The same thing, example. As a rabbit is going to be killed, he closes the eyes. "There is no danger. (laughter) There is no danger." He's thinking.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Yes, there are thousand things they are taking for granted without...
Prabhupāda: That is not science. Science should not take anything granted.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: Something which is beyond their experimental knowledge...
Prabhupāda: Then where is the difference between the scientists and the devotees? The devotees, devotee accepts what Kṛṣṇa says. That's all. Granted. (japa) In the śāstra it is said that acintyā khalu ye bhāvā na tās tarkeṇa yojayet, yojayet. "Things which are beyond your conception or perception, don't bring it in arguments and logic."
Room Conversation -- August 12, 1975, Paris (with French translator):
Prabhupāda: There is no responsibilities, all false, māyā. Everyone is maintained by God. It is our false conception that "I am giving protection to anybody." That is false. Just like a man is diseased and we are giving help, medical help, first-class physician, first-class medicine, still he dies. So if God desires that this man must die now, your medical help or physician's help will not act. And if God desires that this man must live, then even without your medical help and physician, he will live. Then where is your responsibility?
Woman: Are you against medical help? I mean, you want just to let Kṛṣṇa do His way and not let the doctors help at all? I mean, don't go a doctor, just rely on Kṛṣṇa to help you?
Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa will help you. It is Kṛṣṇa's help that will be counted, not your help or my help.
Room Conversations -- September 11, 1974, Vrndavana:
Gurudāsa: (making notes on tape) Morning, 11 September, 1974, Vṛndāvana. Śrīla Prabhupāda was saying that manager and assisting managers is not difficult, except that all the European and American boys didn't understand the concept of prabhu. We each call each other prabhu, but we are thinking that "I am prabhu and all others are servants." Not that the one I am calling prabhu or the one who is calling me prabhu are mutual prabhus. (break)
Brahmānanda: He's typing the tapes now. To type one tape takes him about eight hours.
Prabhupāda: Eight hours?
Brahmānanda: Yes.
Prabhupāda: How is that?
Brahmānanda: That is the usual time.
1975 Conversations and Morning Walks
Room Conversation with Sanskrit Professor, other Guests and Disciples -- February 12, 1975, Mexico:
Prabhupāda: Why they have manufactured this Hindu religion, Muslim religion, Christian religion, this religion, that...? Therefore they are all pretending religion. Real religion is obedient... Dharmaṁ tu sākṣād bhagavat-praṇītam (SB 6.3.19). Just like law. Law is made by the state. The law cannot be Hindu law, Muslim law, Christian law, this law, that law. Law is meant for everyone. Obedience to the state. That is law. Similarly, religion means obedience to God. Then one who has no conception of God, no idea of God, where is religion? That is pretending religion. Therefore in the Bhāgavata you'll find, dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo 'tra: (SB 1.1.2) "All pretending type of religion is rejected." And Kṛṣṇa also said the same thing, sarva-dharmān parityajya: (BG 18.66) "You give up all this pretending religion. You simply surrender unto Me. That is real religion." What is the use of speculating on pretending religion. That is not religion at all. Just like pretending law. Law cannot be pretending. Law is law, given by the state. Similarly, religion means the order given by God. That is religion. If you follow, then you are religious. If you don't follow, then you are demon. Make things very simplified. Then it will be appealing to everyone. So this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for making things very simplified. Accept God, accept your position as God's servant and serve God. That's all, three words. You have no question? These boys?
Room Conversation with Woman Sanskrit Professor -- February 13, 1975, Mexico:
Professor: If Indian philosophy...
Prabhupāda: No, no, it is no Indian or American. It is the philosophy. It is philosophy. The philosophy is not Indian or American. Truth is truth, not Indian truth or American truth. That is not truth. That is relative truth. The Absolute Truth is absolute. That is neither Indian nor American nor...
Guest (1): But in what sense you use the concept "truth" here? Is it in the ontological sense, or is it in somehow in a more pragmatical human sense, refers to human beings or...?
Prabhupāda: Yes, it is pragmatic, that you cannot see beyond this wall. That is your insufficient knowledge or your senses are insufficient. You cannot go beyond this wall. But that does not mean there is nothing beyond this wall. So if you want to know what is beyond this wall, you have to know from a person who knows it. Yes. Because you cannot see, you cannot know, that is not the end. There must be something.
Room Conversation with Professors -- February 19, 1975, Caracas:
Prabhupāda: That's your business, but we find difference. And we have no also difference with other religion. Now, other religions, they are also searching after God. But religion, conception of religion, without God is not religion. Do you admit or not?
Professor (Hṛdayānanda): All the religions say they have knowledge of God.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Anyway, religion means searching after God.
Professor (Hṛdayānanda): He says for example they have a new god which is money.
Prabhupāda: Yes, because you are imperfect, therefore you are thinking like that. Now, suppose you are on deathbed, can money save you? Then why do you say money is all-powerful? God is all-powerful, but money is not all-powerful. Then therefore money cannot be God.
Room Conversation with Professors -- February 19, 1975, Caracas:
Prabhupāda: Yes, that occupier or...
Professor: I don't care who is the owner of my body. I know that it is not going to be eternally mine because this body is going to corrupt, is going to die, and we will have to bury it so that everybody will be happy. But I don't care about that because I...
Prabhupāda: That is animal. That is animal. That is animal conception. That is animal conception, that a dog doesn't care. Similarly, if you don't care, then you are no better than the dog.
Professor: I would not agree with that.
Prabhupāda: Why not? Because your conception, the dog conception, the same.
Professor: Well, you were saying beforehand...
Prabhupāda: No, no, the dog doesn't care whether he is the proprietor of the body or not. So if I don't care, then what is the difference between dog and me?
Professor: The difference between dog and men is a very slight one, that men can think, that men can reason.
Prabhupāda: So, you say slight; we say nothing. Unless one has got this transcendental knowledge, he is no better than the dog.
Room Conversation with Metaphysics Society -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:
Prabhupāda: That means that limited is material, he says? And unlimited is spiritual?
Guest: i, pero... (Spanish)
Prabhupāda: So what is the conception of the spiritual?
Guest (Hṛdayānanda): That which is, has been and will be and which is not limited to form.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Limited to form. Then how he is unlimited?
Guest: (Spanish)
Hṛdayānanda: There are some other guests here, so I'm going to have to arrange things at this moment to bring the other guests in. Some of the devotees have to go in the other big room. There's room.
Śrutakīrti: OK, well, there's ten guests.
Prabhupāda: You can move that. So only three of them can remain. You three or four can remain.
Room Conversation with Metaphysics Society -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:
Guest (Hṛdayānanda): He said that you have said that God expands, but this implies that God modifies Himself or changes.
Prabhupāda: No. That is God. He can expand unlimitedly; still, He remains as He is. That is, means, unlimited. Just like if you have got hundred dollars in your pocket, then if it is spent, one dollar, one dollar, one dollar, then ultimately you become zero. But about God it is said, pūrṇasya pūrṇam ādāya pūrṇam eva avaśiṣyate (Iso Invocation). That means you take hundred dollars. Still, the hundred dollar is there. Similarly, God as He is, He can expand Himself in millions and millions separately; still, He is the same million. That is called God. If we take God in our conception, that "I have got hundred dollars. I spend hundred dollars. It is zero," but God is not like that. God can expand Himself as God unlimitedly; still, He remains the same. There is another nice example. Just like you take one candle and you lit up another candle, you lit up another candle, another candle and millions of candle, but this candle remains the same powerful, and all the candles lit up, they are also same power. But for our understanding, we take the original candle as first candle, the next as second candle, the third, fourth, fifth, millions. But each candle is equally powerful, and the original candle is still there. So by this expansion, God does not diminishes. That is the meaning of God, and that is the meaning of unlimited.
Room Conversation with Metaphysics Society -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:
Lady (Hṛdayānanda): They're saying it's not that they don't like Kṛṣṇa. They like Kṛṣṇa very much, but they are saying that everything is...
Prabhupāda: No, no, they must have some name of God. "I am" is not the name. That is false conception.
Guests (Hṛdayānanda): They say it's something very personal.
Prabhupāda: No. When you ask name, that is personal.
Lady: God?
Prabhupāda: God means controller. God is not name. Just like the president, Mr. Ford. That is name, and president is the controller. So every controller has got name. So why the supreme controller will not have any name? That is ignorance.
Room Conversation with Metaphysics Society -- February 21, 1975, Caracas:
Prabhupāda: Well, every guru is the way to approach God. That's a fact. But he has got his name, Christ. So why do you deny this name? "Christ says,"—that means either you take him anything, but he has a name, Christ.
Lady: No.
Prabhupāda: No? What is this? (laughter) That is your conception. It is not Bible's conception. Bible says the son of God is Christ. You can create by mental concoction anything, but if you refer to the Bible, the name is Christ. Everyone says, all Christians says, all Christians says, "the Jesus Christ." Why do you deny it?
Lady (Hṛdayānanda): Māyāvāda. She says that everyone has the Christ within him.
Prabhupāda: No, we don't agree with all these things.
Lady (Hṛdayānanda): If we agree with Buddhist consciousness?
Prabhupāda: No, no, whatever consciousness may be, I say that in the Bible it is said that son of God is Christ. His name is Christ. How you can deny the name? No, no, that is their interpretation, "Christ means 'I am.' " They want to interpret in their own way. There is name. How can you deny it?
Room Conversation with Bernard Manischewitz -- March 5, 1975, New York:
Bernard Manischewitz: You know I'm in the food business, so my first question deals with my food business. I'm familiar with the Kṛṣṇa cookbook—I've read the recipes—but I do not see any suggested menus or nutritional information, and I'm wondering if there's any thought that's been worked on that. Is there any background of menus or nutritional information?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Nutritional information means that we require for balance food: starch, carbohydrate, protein, fat. What else? Starch, carbohydrate, protein, fat. These are necessary nutrition, but these things are there in vegetable diet. Rice, starch; wheat, protein; dahl, protein; then vegetable, carbohydrate; and milk, fat. So if we take food and test it within these four, five groups... Eat according to our conception, sattvikaḥ. Sattvikaḥ means foodstuff in goodness. There are three qualities in the material world—goodness, passion and ignorance. So they are described: these are goodness foods, these are passion, these are ignorance. So these items: rice, wheat, vegetables, dahl and milk is sufficient for nutrition. Above that, you take little fruit, it is very good. And in India this foodstuff is taken by the learned circle—brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas—and they keep very good health, very good life.
Room Conversation with Canadian Ambassador to Iran -- March 13, 1975, Iran:
Ambassador: The process of change of consciousness which is actually taking place in the world under many influences, I think...
Prabhupāda: No. The influence should be only Kṛṣṇa, or God. Kṛṣṇa, when we speak of "Kṛṣṇa"—God. But they have no clear idea what is God. How does He speak, how does He act, where does He live, what is His form, what is His qualities—nobody knows. Ask any religious people, "Do you know about all this, about God?" They do not know. What do you think, Atreya? Have they any clear conception of God? They imagine something. If they think of God at all... First of all, generally they think of impersonal or void. Just like the Buddhists. They think God is zero. And others, they think that God has no form. The two classes. The Hindus they think, "Yes, God has no particular form, but He has got many forms. And you can imagine any one of them." That is Śaṅkara, the pañcopāsana. But still, Śaṅkara is very careful. He has given five particular forms. The Goddess Durgā, Lord Viṣṇu, Lord Śiva, the sun, then... Therefore there are a section who are the sun worshiper, or fire worshiper. Original Iranians were like that. So that is Vedic culture.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Devotee: He's coming.
Prabhupāda: Yes. India... Formerly your country was part of India, and you belong to the same culture. So far I understand, Iran means Āryan? So Āryan culture was practically all over the world. Āryan culture is based on God consciousness. So amongst the Āryans there is some conception of religion, either Christian religion or Mohammedan religion, Buddhist religion, Vedic religion, based on conception of God. So according to time, country, the ways of understanding may be little different, but the aim is God consciousness. That is Āryan civilization. So God is one; God cannot be two. So the features of God or angle of vision of God may be different. So they have been summarized in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. (Aside:) You can come forward. One feature of God is impersonal. Just like the sunshine.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: So you can take it that the creation of the foliage is due to the heat. Similarly light. So heat and light is the cause of all this material creation. And heat and light is coming from the sunshine, er, sun. Therefore heat becomes the origin of creation even in this material world. Similarly, there is another light. That is the original light. This is reflection. That is called brahma-jyotir, spiritual light. So in this way one conception of God is like that. Another conception of God is: God is situated everywhere. Aṇḍāntara-sthaṁ paramāṇu-cayāntara-stham. Because God is situated within the universe, within the atom, therefore they are existing. Just like the ātmā, or spirit soul, is situated in you, in me, in everyone. This is called Paramātmā feature. And at the ultimate end there is the person, God as person, the Supreme Person, the Supreme Being, a person like you and me—we are person—but He is almighty, all-powerful. This is the conception of Absolute Truth: God, Paramātmā, and Brahmājyoti. Brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate (SB 1.2.11). This is the Sanskrit word. He is realized as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān. Bhagavān is person; Paramātmā is all-pervading, means localized, situated; and Brahman means all-pervading. All together-God. This is the idea. What is your idea of God?
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Young man: I, I... Something that I see sometimes in everything, the sameness in everything.
Prabhupāda: No clear concept.
Young man: I have no clear...
Prabhupāda: Yes. The clear conception of God is that originally He is person. Just like the same example, the sun. We can see every day the sun. (aside:) Can you give me that 7-Up? The sun is there always, but at night we cannot see. At night we cannot see. That does not mean the sun is not there.
Young man: But sharpening the senses, how does one sharpen one's senses?
Prabhupāda: Senses are imperfect. Just like we are very proud of our eyes to see, but you cannot see what is beyond the wall. Therefore it is conditioned. You cannot see without light. That, how you can be sure that your eyes are perfectly seeing? That is not possible, because the eyes can see under certain condition. So if it is conditioned, then it is not perfect. But the conditioned sight can be purified. Just like one is suffering from cataract. By surgical operation the cataract can be removed and he can see. Similarly, our senses are imperfect. If we purify the senses, then it will be possible to see God twenty-four hours. That purification process is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: So what is the conception of God in Islam?
Young man: Even as a Mohammedan, I didn't have very good teaching. My teachers didn't know the Koran very well, and therefore they gave me no concept of God when I was a child. I don't know what the Mohammedan concept of God is.
Prabhupāda: Any one of you cannot explain? You have got?
Young man: I think it's the all-powerful one who's omnipotent, the same as in all religions. There is one God.
Prabhupāda: So His form... What is the form?
Young man: What is His form? He created the world...
Prabhupāda: That is His action. What is His form?
Young man: A heavenly being.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: They have got simply an idea that there is God, but what is that God, they have no clear conception. Just like I asked, "What is the conception of God in Islam?" You could not give us. You simply described some of His activities.
Young man: That's true.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Young man: All the religions that have been taught to me have not given me a clear view of God, a clear concept. They didn't seem to know it themself.
Prabhupāda: No, concept is there as you told me: "The God has made human being after His own image." Then we can get the idea that God is a person like a human being, He has got two hands, two legs, one head, because after His image we have been... Now, if we study ourself and increase that quality... Just like I am. I can eat. I can eat a certain amount of foodstuff, but God can also eat, but He can eat the whole universe. So eating is there. But the difference of eating is there also. I can create one airplane, but God has created very, very big airplanes like these planets, and they are floating in the sky without any power crisis. That is God's creation. Here we are floating the airplane or running the car with the power, petrol, given by God. You cannot manufacture petrol. Just like in your country there is enough stock of petrol. But you have not created it.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: Upadekṣyanti tad jñānaṁ jñāninaḥ tattva-darśinaḥ. Tattva-darśi, one who has seen the truth, he can enlighten you. This is the process. Otherwise, even Gandhi, Dr. Rādhākrishnan, Vivekānanda, all they have committed mistake. Aurobindo. Aurobindo has understood little to some extent, but not fully. But if we are fortunate enough, then we can understand Kṛṣṇa very easily. What is that? Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). "My dear Dhanañjaya, Arjuna, there is no more superior truth than Me." So if we accept that, either you say blindly or conscientiously, then that is perfection. Kṛṣṇa says, bahūnāṁ janmanām ante jñānavān māṁ prapadyate: (BG 7.19) "After many, many births of philosophical speculation, when one actually becomes wise, jñānī, jñānavān, full of knowledge, then the result is māṁ prapadyate: he surrenders unto Me." Why surrender? Now, vāsudevaḥ sarvam iti (BG 7.19)—he understands that Kṛṣṇa is everything. Sa mahātmā su-durlabhaḥ: "Such mahātmā is very rare." That I was... we were discussing that there are so many religious system in the world, but hardly they have got any clear conception of God. I have asked so many gentlemen belonging to different types of religion that "What is the clear conception of God?" So may I ask you also what is the clear conception of God?
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Prabhupāda: But we are speaking the same thing, Bhagavad-gītā. We are not manufacturing anything. Clear conception of God you can take from Arjuna. Arjuna associated with Kṛṣṇa personally. What he says about Kṛṣṇa and what he understands about God, that you read from the Tenth Chapter. Paraṁ brahma paraṁ dhāma pavitraṁ paramaṁ bhavān, puruṣaṁ śāśvataṁ divyam (BG 10.12).
Nitāi: "Arjuna said: You are the Supreme Brahmān, the ultimate, the supreme abode and purifier, the Absolute Truth and the eternal divine person. You are the primal God, transcendental and original. You are the unborn and the all-pervading beauty. All the great sages such as Nārada, Asita, Devala, and Vyāsa proclaim this of You, and now You Yourself are declaring it to me."
Prabhupāda: Then? Purport? (break) Next verse?
Nitāi: "O Kṛṣṇa, I totally accept as truth all that You have told me. Neither the gods nor the demons, O Lord, know Thy personality."
Prabhupāda: Now here is the Arjuna's understanding, that "I accept You in total." Now some rascals are proclaiming that all the Bhagavad-gītās, they are, most of them are interpretation. But Arjuna says that "I accept everything what You have said." So whom you will accept, Arjuna or some rascal who is speaking that "There are so many interpolation. They can be rejected"? Whom you will accept as authority? Arjuna says that "I accept whatever You have said in toto." If you accept Arjuna because he has heard from Kṛṣṇa, then you accept Kṛṣṇa or you understand Kṛṣṇa.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Dr. Movebhed: I said I think the question you put, the clear concept of Kṛṣṇa, or God... The God for me is not a conceptual thing. It cannot be subject to concept, and to understand God, you have to identify yourself with the truth, and otherwise it's not the way to...
Prabhupāda: No, if you accept Kṛṣṇa as the teacher, authority, just like Arjuna accepted. Arjuna said, śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "Now I accept You as my teacher." Śiṣya. Śiṣya means disciple. Śiṣyas te aham: "I am Your now disciple. Don't accept me as Your friend." Friend to friend talk, it is not very serious. So when one is accepted as the master, then you have to accept his statement. There is no question of argument. That is the relationship between guru and disciple. Therefore the process is: before accepting a person as guru, one must study his position. And guru also, before accepting a disciple, must study his position. In this way the relationship between guru and disciple is established. Now, Arjuna is a friend of Kṛṣṇa, so he has studied Kṛṣṇa, and therefore he submits, Arjuna, "Kṛṣṇa, although we are friends, now I accept You as my spiritual master." Śiṣyas te 'haṁ śādhi māṁ prapannam: (BG 2.7) "I am now surrendered." "Surrendered" means "As I accept you as my teacher, I'll not argue." So first of all this is required, that before accepting somebody as teacher one must be convinced that "The person whom I am going to accept, my teacher, is perfect." Then the knowledge will be nice. If we approach a perfect person and submissively hear from him, then the knowledge is perfect. So Kṛṣṇa is accepted as the supreme authority, as Arjuna quoted.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Indian man: I know the living Kṛṣṇa will come in Bhagavad-gītā, I hope.
Prabhupāda: No. He says... He says that mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya: (BG 7.7) "There is no superior authority than Me." Then if you do not understand what is that Kṛṣṇa, then how you accept Him as superior authority?
Guest: I think we have to define the concept of God first, and then only...
Prabhupāda: No, no, concept of God is there in the Bhagavad-gītā.
Guest: What is that concept first, please?
Prabhupāda: That He says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat (BG 7.7). God means the Supreme. So He says, "There is no more superior supreme than Me." Then He is God. And if you accept the teachings of Bhagavad-gītā, then you have to accept He is God. Otherwise what you have understood, Bhagavad-gītā? You have manufactured your own way. He says... If you study Bhagavad-gītā, He says, mattaḥ parataraṁ nānyat kiñcid asti dhanañjaya (BG 7.7). So God means the Supreme. So He says, "I am the Supreme. There is no more superior supreme." Then you have to accept Him God.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Atreya Ṛṣi: We are talking about one name which is to describe the concept of God. When we are also talking about the name of God. When we are talking about the name of God... In other words, if I don't know who you are, I have to ask somebody, "What is his name?" That is your name.
Guest: But my name is my name in Turkey, in English, in Arabic, in anywhere you go.
Prabhupāda: That's all right, then let the Turkish chant the name of Turkish name.
Guest: But God, the name is different.
Atreya Ṛṣi: Yes, But if you find what his name is,...
Prabhupāda: But the name must be chanted that is our program. It may be Turkish name, it may be Arabic name, it may be Sanskrit name. Whatever he knows let him chant. That is our program.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Atreya Ṛṣi: But the concept of name of God is separate than designation, which you are talking about. Man-made designation. And this concept, if you don't accept this concept, how do you accept the concept of chanting in Islam. These are the points. Bhagavad-gītā also. There are so many concepts in there, but we want to interpret them all, we don't want to accept them. We want to accept our mind. Prabhupāda, what he has been saying all evening is: "Let's accept Bhagavad-gītā as authority. Let's accept Koran as authority. Let's accept an authority." Because we want to go by our senses. We want to go around modern...
Guest: Yes, (indistinct) as authorities.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Room Conversation with Yoga Student -- March 14, 1975, Iran:
Atreya Ṛṣi: So this name of God is diff... If God is transcendental, if God is spiritual then how could His name be committed to our relative conceptions. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...indicates God, then it is not bad. That is our point. If we indicates to God... Just like Allah. If this name indicates to God, then it is this Allah word as good as God. There is no difference. Nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija sarva śakti. The Allah, the conception of Allah means The Great, is it not? So God is Great. So by chanting Allah, I am meaning God, the Supreme Person, so it is as good. And actually in Mosque, they chant Allah-u-akbar, like that, so far I've heard. So that prayer, if it is not God's name, then what is the use of this prayer? That is God's name. Similarly, the Hindus may chant Hare Kṛṣṇa, they're indicating to the same personality. It may be different language; therefore, it is as good as God because God is absolute. But this, this name is authorize because Muhammad said that you chant, "Allah." So it is authorized, because he is God's representative. Therefore my request is, or our request is that you chant the name of Allah. We don't say that you chant Kṛṣṇa. You chant the Holy name of God. If Allah is approved name of God, you chant it. That is our request. We don't force you that you chant the name of Kṛṣṇa. No, we don't say that. If somebody says Jehovah is the name of God, that's all right, you chant Jehovah. Allah is the name of God, that's all right, you do it. We simply request that you chant the holy name of God. That's all.
Morning Walk -- April 3, 1975, Mayapur:
Prabhupāda: Then? Even it is beyond your conception, what to speak of others. But it is growing. It is... If there is any scar or if the nail is broken some way or other, it will come out. But... You cannot manufacture it by conceiving. But it is coming out. That means within you there is an inconceivable power. So if you have got, an ordinary human being, so much inconceivable power, how much God has got inconceivable power. That is God.
Haṁsadūta: In Los Angeles, you called it mystic power, that every living creature has some mystic power.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Every living creature.
Trivikrama: You gave the example of a lemon tree.
Prabhupāda: Yes. The mystic power producing tons of citric acid.
Morning Walk -- April 7, 1975, Mayapur:
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: ...into the lower species of life.
Prabhupāda: Yes. They will fall down. Śāstra says. They will fall down. The same example: if I ask you that "You sit down in this vacant land and you live eternally," you will leave this place: "No, no, I don't want this eternity. Let me go to Calcutta." (laughter) (break) ...perpetually. So that is wanted. The spiritual kingdom is Brahman effulgence, and there are Vaikuṇṭha planets. So if you take shelter of the Vaikuṇṭha planet, then you can stay. And if you take simply the impersonal Brahmān, sky, you cannot stay there. Arūhya kṛcchreṇa patanty adhaḥ. So without varieties, simply impersonal conception of Brahmān will not make you happy.
Puṣṭa-kṛṣṇa: The descriptions of Goloka Vṛndāvana, that even the dust is personal... So we have experience of personal form. Even Kṛṣṇa's form is personal. How is the dust of Vṛndāvana personal? How is it individual living entity?
Prabhupāda: If you want something from this dust, you cannot get it. That is material. But in Vṛndāvana, even from the dust if you want any, he will deliver immediately.
Morning Walk -- May 8, 1975, Perth:
Prabhupāda: Even by sentiment one comes to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he is not loser; he is gainer. And if one person does not come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, he does his duty very nicely, he gains nothing.
Paramahaṁsa: Due to the so many rascal commentators on the Bhagavad-gītā, in India all the Indians have a conception that the perfection of human life is to simply execute one's karma or to do his duty to his family, etc, and therefore they're wasting their time in this way and completely neglecting devotional service. Hare Kṛṣṇa. (break)
Prabhupāda: You bring so many varieties of food: And my duty is to eat.
Paramahaṁsa: Yes. So...
Prabhupāda: So now let me perform my duty. (end)
Room Conversation with Kim Cornish -- May 8, 1975, Perth:
Amogha: He's asking about the conception of denial of the self.
Kim: Of the ātman, yes.
Amogha: Ātman. The finishing of ātman.
Prabhupāda: Hmm. So how can you deny ātman?
Kim: In Hindu philosophy, what is the nature of the ātman?
Prabhupāda: Nature of ātman is eternal. Eternity, knowledge and blissfulness. Ānandamayo 'bhyāsāt: (Vedānta-sūtra 1.1.12) ātmā is joy, ānanda, blissful.
Kim: I've read some of the Upaniṣads where they say that ātman is Brahman?
Prabhupāda: Why have I placed this flower here? Why do I like this flower? What is the reason?
Kim: Because it's beautiful, perhaps?
Room Conversation with Justin Murphy (Geographer) -- May 14, 1975, Perth:
Justin Murphy: The Roman Catholics are a jealous people. Roman Catholics are jealous religious people. They refuse even still to accept, for example, that Anglicans pray in the same way as they do. They refuse to accept that Anglicans pray as well as they do.
Prabhupāda: No, one thing is that may be Anglican, may be Roman Catholics, may be Christian, may be Hindu or Muslim or anyone. Whether they have God in their conception of religion or not. Do they have God or no God?
Justin Murphy: Well they all have. They must have, to be a religion.
Prabhupāda: So I am asking that "You chant the holy name of God. If you have God, you chant the holy name of that God." I don't say that "You chant the holy name of my God." You chant the holy name of your God. God is one. Just like water. Somebody says "water," somebody says "pāni," somebody says "jala," but the end is, the aim is, water. Similarly, God... I may say "Kṛṣṇa," you may say "Jehovah," the Muslims may say "Allah," or others may say something else, but the aim is God.
Room Conversation with Ganesa dasa's Mother and Sister -- May 14, 1975, Perth:
Prabhupāda: All-knowledgeable.
Sister: Yes, my conception of...
Prabhupāda: Then all-knowledgeable means you must know, all-knowledgeable. You just explain what is the nature of God.
Śrutakīrti: She's saying God knows everything, that is her conception.
Prabhupāda: Oh. God knows everything, but everything means then, if you, we accept this formula, then He knows past, present, and future.
Sister: No, that's right. No past, present, or future. No, I don't think that. Just eternal.
Prabhupāda: No, no. God knows everything means He knows past, present, and future. That is all-knowing. So if He knows past, present, and future, then you should accept His instruction. That should be the next. So what is His instruction? His instruction is man-manā bhava mad-bhakto mad-yājī māṁ namaskuru.
Room Conversation with Ganesa dasa's Mother and Sister -- May 14, 1975, Perth:
Prabhupāda: Now, man-manāḥ, you have to think of God. But if you do not know who is God, then how you will think of Him? If I say that "You always think of me," now you are seeing me, you can think of me. But if you have no knowledge about me, who is, then how you can think of me?
Sister: It's only by what you are told about God, and you have to develop your own conception until you actually meet Him.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Now we are saying that here is God, Kṛṣṇa. They are accepting, and they are thinking of God, and they are making progress.
Sister: But have they met God?
Prabhupāda: Yes, Kṛṣṇa is God.
Room Conversation with Jesuit -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: That is illicit sex. If you cannot produce children, and still you have sex, that is illicit sex.
Jesuit: Yes, well I find it hard to accept that. Tell me more about your concept of God. I'd be very interested to know.
Prabhupāda: God is great. He's great in every respect, in strength...
Jesuit: Is He a person?
Prabhupāda: Yes. Unless... A person... What is the meaning of great?
Jesuit: Well you can speak about a mountain being great and that's not God.
Prabhupāda: But God can swallow millions of mountains. That is God. Your conception is: mountain is very great. But our conception is: God is so great that He can swallow millions of mountains. So whose greatness is greater, the mountain's or God's?
Room Conversation with Journalist -- May 19, 1975, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: In the civilized human society there is some system of religion. So that system of religion means try to understand God. Religion means the law given by God. So civilized human beings, they are trying to understand God and His laws. That is called religion. Now the difference between dog and me is that I can try to understand what is God, what is my position; the dog cannot understand. Dog means the animals. They cannot understand. So that is the difference between a human being and a dog. If we give up religion or the method to understand God and our relationship with Him, then we will remain dog. Then we remain dog. We are not human being. So at the present moment the so-called human society, civilized human society, is giving up the conception of God, understanding God, especially the Communist party. They are openly declaring that "We don't believe in God." But those who are not Communists, they, lip sympathy, they say that "Yes, we believe in God," but actually they do not believe.
Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:
Madhudviṣa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, this concept that everything belongs to God, it can't work unless everybody believes that everything belongs to God.
Prabhupāda: Then everybody may be mad. That does not change the fact. If some madman comes in this room and he fights, "I am the proprietor. You get out," so that is not the fact.
Guest 1: I understand, you know you were talking about the sea and so on. But it's for people to use.
Prabhupāda: Use, you can use. Tena tyaktena bhuñjīthāḥ (ISO 1). That is the Vedic injunction. What is given to you, you use it. Just like one gentleman has got five sons. He gives one son, "This is your property. This is your property. This you can use." But the sons must acknowledge that "This is father's property. He has given us." Similarly, in the Vedic śāstra it is said that "Everything belongs to God, and whatever He has given to you, you can use. Don't encroach upon others."
Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:
Madhudviṣa: We are believing that everything belongs to God. If someone else does not believe in that concept and tries to use...
Prabhupāda: That is wrong, that I say. That is his wrong conception.
Guest 2: Well, how do you reconcile or how do you work out a situation... If everything belongs to God, we have to run society, and...
Prabhupāda: But you don't forget that everything belongs to God. Because you have to run society, it does not mean that you forget the real thing.
Guest 1: So I really don't object to that idea at all. But the thing is that the system we're working within has got different concepts.
Prabhupāda: It should be rectified.
Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:
Guest 1: Yes, but people are changing now. You're getting the young people who for the first time in years are becoming aware and are getting interested in things outside their own town, their own individual state or whatever it is they have. You have people, the young people now are getting interested in things like poverty, they're interested in Bangladesh and so on. This is good. But you nonetheless have a very large proportion of the people who have got that idea of, "I'm all right, and I'll look after mine without taking the overall picture into account." And I think that so long as you have different concepts, different beliefs, it's going to be very hard to get into what you're talking about.
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is to be united first, that... First thing is that everyone should be convinced or understand clearly that everything belongs to God. But they have no conception of God even. That is the difficulty. The whole human society at the present moment, majority, they are Godless, especially the Communists. They don't acknowledge. The scientist, the philosopher, the scholars—all Godless. Scientists' special business is how to defy God. They say, "Science is everything. We can do everything by science." There is no need of God.
Room Conversation with Two Lawyers and Guest -- May 22, 1975, Melbourne:
Prabhupāda: Therefore I say blind. He does not know what is good. real goodness is to understand God. That is real goodness.
Guest 1: But there are certain things that you don't..., that are good, that you can accept as being good just by themselves. Now if you see an old lady who gets run over by a car, you go and help her. Now there are certain things that are good by themselves, I think, and that people will react and do the good thing even though they mightn't have any concept of God.
Prabhupāda: No. Unless you have got the real platform how you can do good? Just like our Madhudviṣa Mahārāja was obliged to you. You have done some good in legal affairs. But unless you are a lawyer, legal man, how can you do it? You have a mind to do good, but if you are not a lawyer, how could you do?
Guest 2: But there would be a lot of lawyers to do...
Prabhupāda: No, that is another thing. I am talking of yourself. If one does not know what is good, then how he will do good? The first business is that he must know what is good. Then he can do something good. Otherwise what is the use of jumping like monkey? He must know. Because you are a lawyer you know how to deal with law, you can do good. But a layman who is not a lawyer, how he can do good? So therefore, anyone who is posing himself as leader to do good to the society, he must know first of all what is good.
Room Conversation with Yogi Bhajan -- June 7, 1975, Honolulu:
Prabhupāda: If we present, "Here is God. You are seeking after God. Here is God," now what they will say?
Yogi Bhajan: Well, some will say, "Yes, it is." Some will say, "No."
Prabhupāda: Ācchā. So if he says no, "Why do you say no? Then what is your conception of God?"
Yogi Bhajan: Well, that is what we want to understand basically. That's what we are talking about, one thing. Your realization about God is a very universal realization. Somebody on this human level is very limited. After all, the limited and the unlimited have to be brought together.
Prabhupāda: No. Limited cannot understand God. Limited is limited.
Yogi Bhajan: Um hm.
Prabhupāda: Mahātmā means unlimited.
Yogi Bhajan: Um hm.
Prabhupāda: Mahā. Mahā means very great. So unless one has very big understanding, he cannot understand God. God is unlimited. So you have (to) come to that platform to understand. Those who are limited, they cannot understand God. That is not possible.
Room Conversation with Yogi Bhajan -- June 7, 1975, Honolulu:
Yogi Bhajan: That's what I am saying. This is the time...
Prabhupāda: Yes, you accept this Bhagavad-gītā as the standard knowledge and preach it.
Yogi Bhajan: I read it, I preach it, I understand it. That's in my concept.
Prabhupāda: That is wanted. That is wanted.
Yogi Bhajan: What I am trying to reach is that this concept which you honestly believe as individual must be shared.
Prabhupāda: No, no. I, again you take... Why "I honestly believe"? Why you honestly do not believe?
Yogi Bhajan: Well, every honest understanding will believe that.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- June 10, 1975, Honolulu:
Prabhupāda: They are not on the spiritual platform, so all their studies are useless. They are studying with a pre-concept idea.
Siddha-svarūpa: Right. So that when you don't fit into their preconceived idea...
Prabhupāda: It is called, in logic it is called prititio principia(?). So it is useless.
Paramahaṁsa: In our movement, Śrīla Prabhupāda, we have that group of scientists who are preparing that book, The Origin of Life, but will they actually be able to prove anything through that book?
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Paramahaṁsa: Will they actually be able to prove anything by scientific presentation or...?
Prabhupāda: Yes, that is science. If you can prove it by experiment. Otherwise, it is not science, theory.
Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: That's nice. That is the beginning of spiritual education. People do not understand. I have seen many European big, big professors. They do not have any clear conception that the body and the soul, different.
Dr. John Mize: It still disturbs me, of course, how the body can influence the mind so much, the mind not being the soul apparently. But I know that when I get hit on the back of the head, my mind seems to blank out. Once in judo I recall having my carotid artery pressed and consciousness left. But it was very pleasant. It was not unpleasant at all.
Prabhupāda: No. Actually soul is above intelligence. Above intelligence. Our gross senses, that is our present perception, direct. And beyond these gross senses, there is the mind. And beyond the mind, there is intelligence. And beyond intelligence, there is soul. So come to that platform requires that meditation process to make the sense activities calm and quiet, mind settle, and then come to the intelligence platform, then come to the spiritual platform.
Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:
Dr. John Mize: The question that bothers me in part is then why would the soul... Because I understand your conception that the soul is part of the spiritual sky originally or part of God, and it somehow falls out of this blissful condition due to pride, much like the Christian thesis that the devil fell out of heaven due to pride. And it seems puzzling why the soul would be so silly, so foolish, so insane, as to do such a thing.
Prabhupāda: That is his independence.
Dr. John Mize: Independence.
Prabhupāda: Instead of using independence properly, when he misuses independence he falls.
Dr. John Mize: I'm sorry, he what?
Prabhupāda: He falls down.
Dr. John Mize: He falls.
Prabhupāda: He falls down on account of his independence. Just like you have got independence. You are sitting here. You can go immediately. You may not like to hear me.
Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: That "I am simply amazed how you have converted drug-addicted hippies to become servant of Kṛṣṇa and the humanity." That is his puzzling. But the method is so nice that it automatically becomes. Therefore we are stressing on the method.
Dharmādhyakṣa: In other words, Śrīla Prabhupāda, without practice of the method, it's very difficult to understand the philosophical concepts.
Prabhupāda: Yes, yes, yes. Therefore it is said that without becoming a brāhmaṇa, nobody should touch Vedas. That is a... Without becoming brāhmaṇa...
- janmana jāyate śūdraḥ
- saṅskarād bhaved dvijaḥ
- veda-pathad bhaved vipro
- brahmā jānātīti brāhmaṇaḥ
These are the different stages. Everyone is born śūdra. Śūdra means the life of lamentation. He does something and laments. This is śūdra.
Room Conversation with Dr. John Mize -- June 23, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: You can say whatever thing, but anger, all, whatever you have got, God has got in bigger quantity and perfect quantity. That is the conception of God, without any, what is called?
John Mize: Imperfection?
Prabhupāda: Imperfection, yes.
John Mize: I hope He doesn't have my ignorance in such a mass.
Dharmādhyakṣa: But ignorance is not a positive existence.
John Mize: And His anger or jealousy?
Prabhupāda: Yes, sometimes anger acts. If you fight, if you do not be angry, you cannot fight.
Garden Conversation with Professors -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: It is... Very simple answer is: when the mother certifies, "He is your father," that's all. You don't have to make research. That is futile. By research, you cannot understand who is your real father. You can understand your real father only by the certificate of your mother. That's all. Therefore our Vedic mantra says that religion and God cannot be manufactured by speculation. Acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā na tāṁs tarkena yojayet. Just like this example, father. Father was existing before my birth. So after my birth, with limited knowledge I make research who is my father—you will never find your father. But if you take the certificate of your mother, that is there. Similarly, acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā, things which are beyond our conception, that cannot be established simply by argument, logic, so-called science and philosophy, that is not possible. The same example: by argument, logic, science, philosophy you cannot ascertain who is your father. The only simple method and authorized method is to ask mother, and if she says, "Yes, he is your father..." Similarly, things which are beyond our conception, simply argument will be useless.
Morning Walk -- June 24, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Still they do not accept God. (break) ...ājñayā bhramati sambhṛta-kāla-cakro. Everything is. (break) ...cribing the whole universal situation, Śukadeva Gosvāmī concluded, "as God has made it." He never mentioned any other demigod. "As God has made it." Yathā bhagavān kriyetām (break) ...not to accept the authority of Kṛṣṇa, misfortune. Narādhama. (break) (walking:) ...kara bhai, ara saba mithyā, palaya patha nara yo mache piche(?): "Everyone should take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Remember, behind you there is the Yamarāja, death." (break) ...to avoid this horrible conception that there is death, and they avoid this, that "There is death, but there is no life again." That's all. (break) ...this dog race and what is the rat race? There is a word, rat race?
Jayatīrtha: Yes, Śrīla Prabhupāda.
Prabhupāda: What is it?
Jayatīrtha: That describes the modern culture.
Morning Walk -- June 25, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: There is no summary?
Dr. Judah: No. There is no actual statement of any one person or any concept concerning God that would be accepted by all Christians. There are various theologies about God, as I said.
Prabhupāda: No, theologists, some of the prominent theologist, what do they say? How they describe God?
Dr. Judah: Well, it depends upon whether one is a Lutheran or a Calvinist or...
Prabhupāda: Let any one of them say something, I want to hear.
Morning Walk -- June 25, 1975, Los Angeles:
Dharmādhyakṣa: Śrīla Prabhupāda, because the Christian theologians do not have very much information about God, they are being very much influenced by these scientists and their conceptions.
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, sva-viḍ-varāhoṣṭra-kharaiḥ saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ (SB 2.3.19). The same example. A lion is accepted as the king. He is considered to be the king of the beasts in the forest. And he is very much praised. But a human being will see that the lion is also an animal and those who are praising him, they are also animals. Is it not? So if some animals praises another animal, does it mean that the animal is very big? It may be very big for these animals, but lion is not very big thing to the human being. They can capture it. It is nothing. Actually, they capture and keep it in the zoo. So for a human being both the big animal and a small animal, they are animals, although the small animals praise the big animal. Do you follow what I said?
Dr. Judah: Yes.
Room Conversation -- June 26, 1975, Los Angeles:
Prabhupāda: So far I am not so able to answer. I admit my fault.
Devotee (1): Oh, so then that is...
Prabhupāda: I cannot answer.
Devotee (1): I understand. Okay? But they are saying, the general conception of you is that because you know Kṛṣṇa...
Prabhupāda: You can... You...
Devotee (1): (interrupting) Excuse me. Because you know Kṛṣṇa, therefore you know everything about the material world and can answer all questions.
Prabhupāda: So whatever I know I have explained in my books. Beyond that I have no knowledge.
Room Conversation with Lt. Mozee, Policeman -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:
Lt. Mozee: Any infraction against one person by another person. Any trampling on the rights of one person by another person can be a crime or should be a crime.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Our definition is the same in the Upaniṣad, that everything belongs to God. As you think everything belongs to the state, we think everything belongs to God. So you can utilize your possession, what is allotted to you. Don't encroach upon others. So people are not thinking in that way. First beginning is that you Americans, you are thinking this America land is your, although two hundred years ago it was not your. You have come from other parts of the world. Now you are claiming it is your land. But actually it is God's land. So God's land belongs to everyone. Everyone is God's children. That is our broad conception. Īśāvāsyam idaṁ sarvam: (ISO 1) "Everything belongs to God." So people have no conception of God. Everyone is practically godless. Therefore they should be educated about God. Just like the Communists. They are educating godlessness. Similarly... Just like in America they say, your government says, "We trust in God." Is it not?
Devotee: Yes.
Room Conversation with Mr. & Mrs. Wax, Writer and Editing Manager of Playboy Magazine -- July 5, 1975, Chicago:
Jayatīrtha: Like the frog in the well.
Prabhupāda: Yes. A frog in the well is thinking, "This is the limit of water." (laughter) And if you say there is Atlantic Ocean, he cannot understand it. He will think, "What is that?" "Oh, it is very big." "How much? Is it three feet? It is four feet?" "No, no, very big." "Five feet?" "No, no, still..." "Six feet?" So he is calculating in that way, "Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten," but Atlantic ocean is beyond his conception. So these are all Dr. Frog's philosophy. Yes. And the so-called philosophers, they are Dr. Frog. (laughter) We consider them as Dr. Frog. Some of my students who are doctors, they are now trying to give up their job because they are understanding this is all false knowledge.
Morning Walk -- July 11, 1975, Chicago:
Prabhupāda: So God was there and God's word was there. That is the beginning, our beginning. Janmādy asya yataḥ (SB 1.1.1). Aham evāsam agre. And Bhagavad-gītā, ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavaḥ mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate (BG 10.8). This is our philosophy, "Everything begins from God." Now you can say, "Wherefrom God came?" But that is God. God existing, He is not caused by any other cause, He is the original cause. Anādir ādiḥ: "He has no beginning, but He is the beginning of everything." This is conception of God. Anādir ādir govindaḥ (Bs. 5.1). That ādi is Govinda, person, Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām (Bg 10.2). We find from the history. Brahmā is the beginning. He is deva, one of the demigods. Kṛṣṇa says, aham ādir hi devānām. So He is the cause of Brahmā also. So this is our philosophy. We don't begin from zero or accident. This is not our philosophy.
Morning Walk -- July 12, 1975, Philadelphia:
Prabhupāda: That should be followed in our system. Boys and girls must be separate. (break) ...introduce now. How long? What is time?
Brahmānanda: It's still a little early.
Prabhupāda: Early? (break)
Guru dāsa: The concept in sport of celibacy is also there. The best sportsmen are supposed to not take intoxicants or also engage in sex life. That was the training. (break)
Ravīndra-svarūpa: ...will end in this park here.
Prabhupāda: Oh. It will come this way?
Ravīndra-svarūpa: It will come from the other direction and end here. Down under these trees is a very nice place. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...going through the city?
Ravīndra-svarūpa: We go through the city.
Morning Walk -- July 12, 1975, Philadelphia:
Prabhupāda: Working, that's all right. You have seen that so many people are dying. That's all right. But I am challenging that you have not seen the next man who does not die. That you cannot answer.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: For example, they find the laws of motion, Newton's laws of motion. They utilize that concept in shooting rockets. And they use exactly some mathematical formula and apply it.
Prabhupāda: That's all right, but sometimes the shooting of the rocket missing.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: No, what we are saying is that the law that they find out by their own effort is working...
Prabhupāda: So you effort is limited. How you can conclude?
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So inductive knowledge is true to a certain limit.
Prabhupāda: Certain extent, that's all. It is not conclusion.
Room Conversation with writer, Sandy Nixon -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:
Prabhupāda: It is very simple. Hare means "O the energy of Lord," and Kṛṣṇa means "O Lord. Both of You kindly engage me in Your service." That's all. "Both of You, Kṛṣṇa and His energy..." Just like here we have got conception of male and female, similarly, originally, God and His energy, God is male and energy female, prakṛti and puruṣa. This idea of male and female, wherefrom it comes? God is manufacturing so many male and female. So the male and female idea, wherefrom it comes? It comes from God. He is the origin of everything. So the female, or prakṛti, or energy of God, and God Himself... He is called puruṣa. So we are appealing both God and His energy, combined together, engage us in Their service. This is Hare Kṛṣṇa. O Hare means "O the energy of God," O Kṛṣṇa, "O Lord, both of You take care of me and engage me in Your service." That's all. This is meaning.
Conversation with Professor Hopkins -- July 13, 1975, Philadelphia:
Prof. Hopkins: You would see all worshipers of Śiva as following basically that idea.
Prabhupāda: No, there are devotees. Just like we, we offer all respect to Lord Śiva. We consider Śiva as the best of the Vaiṣṇavas. Vaiṣṇavānām yathā śambhu. And we have got sampradāya from Śiva. He is considered one of the authority of Vaiṣṇavism.
Prof. Hopkins: So you would, you would include...
Prabhupāda: Our conception of Śiva is different.
Prof. Hopkins: Where would Basavana fit in?
Prabhupāda: Eh?
Prof. Hopkins: Where would you place Basavana in relation with...
Prabhupāda: Who?
Prof. Hopkins: Basavana.
Prabhupāda: Basavana?
Prof. Hopkins: Lingayat. Lingayat teacher. The Śaivite, Śaivite...
Prabhupāda: He is impersonalist.
Morning Walk -- July 14, 1975, Philadelphia:
Prabhupāda: That I do not know. What do you mean by cell? But there are many living entities within this body. That we know.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: That is different from the concept of cell. there are many living entities like germs...
Prabhupāda: So concept of cell is the cell is just like bricks. Matter and spirit, two things are there. Either it must be matter or must be spirit.
Ravīndra-svarūpa: But it's seen that the scientists, they can take some skin from your body and by putting in different solutions can keep that skin itself alive for such a long time. They have taken the heart of a chicken out of the chicken's body and then kept it beating for so many hours even though that heart was away from the main chicken. Or they take some other tissue and keep it alive. So they say that each cell is an individual living being.
Prabhupāda: So we have no objection.
Morning Walk -- July 14, 1975, Philadelphia:
Devotee (1): Śrīla Prabhupāda, modern philosophy is teaching that the forces of greed and lust and these things are greater than man, that actually... This concept that we are eternal, full of knowledge and bliss, they cannot accept that or understand that. They're thinking that the powers of evil are much greater, and we're just controlled by these things.
Prabhupāda: Therefore they are fools. When a man's lusty desire is very strong, he commits, what is called, rape, and he becomes complicated in criminal activities. Kāma eṣa krodha eṣa rajo-guṇa-samudbhavaḥ. Why one is forced to do that? The cause is lusty desires, anger, greediness. So we are thinking we are master of this material world, but actually you are servant of these desires, kāma, krodha, lobha, mohaḥ. And that is māyā. He is acting as servant, but he's thinking, "I am master." That is māyā, which is not the fact. Just like yesterday we were discussing that the women, they are acting as instrument of men, and they are thinking, "We have equal rights." A man is utilizing her for his own purpose, and she is thinking "I am equal."
Morning Walk -- July 14, 1975, Philadelphia:
Prabhupāda: You can create spiritual platform immediately. Sa guṇān samatītyaitān (BG 14.26). If you fully engage yourself in devotional service, immediately you are above this material conception.
Svarūpa Dāmodara: So the concept that the three modes of material nature, they're working all species, so it's not the...
Prabhupāda: They are directing. Just like in the jail there are different departmental management, similarly, this management is required because you are in the jail. If you don't go to jail, the management may be closed. But you are thinking, "If I do not go to jail, how it will exist?" That is your business, say that "If we all become liberated, how this world will go on?" They say like that, as if it is very necessary.
Devotee (3): Śrīla Prabhupāda, is the subtle bodies in the subtle world, are they made up of subtle atoms?
Prabhupāda: Subtle body means subtle atoms. So if we are in subtle body, so whatever there is in the subtle body, everything is there.
Morning Walk -- July 18, 1975, San Francisco:
Prabhupāda: Jugglery of words, that's all.
Bahulāśva: Their idea is very close to the Brahman conception, though. They think that one pure energy is pervading the whole universe.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Bahulāśva: And it has no material properties.
Prabhupāda: As soon as you accept energy, then you must enquire what is the source of the energy? Energy is produced. Just like here is energy, but it is produced under certain arrangement. Where the energy is being produced? If you accept energy, that is knowledge. Now, just like electrical energy is, what is called, generated in the powerhouse. You cannot say the electrical energy has jump over. It is being generated. Eh?
Bahulāśva: Yeah.
Prabhupāda: Then wherefrom this electric energy is coming? Where is the generating house? You cannot say that electric ener..., so many electrical light, they have come all of a sudden, no. There is a regular generating house. So where is that generating house? What is their reply?
Bahulāśva: They have none.
Morning Walk -- August 12, 1975, Paris:
Mādhavānanda: Everyone thinks in terms of their own relative position.
Prabhupāda: Yes. (break) Even an insignificant bird, because he knows swimming, he knows swimming, so he can challenge, and because you do not know swimming, you cannot say like that. Even insignificant bird, just see how nicely he is swimming. He knows the art. (break) ...one, cent percent of the modern people, they do not believe in God, and they do not know what is religion. That is the position. They think, "Religion is sentiment. Anyone can manufacture his own sentiment. There is no God." This is the position. So we are in fault. "It is folly to be wise where ignorance is bliss." The whole world is under this conception. Therefore we are at fault. We are preaching God consciousness.
Morning Walk -- September 9, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: That is another thing. That is another thing. They, "If you believe that Lord Śiva is the Supreme, why don't you go and establish? Why you are sitting here and declaring jagad-guru?" Their purpose was that "Either you worship Śiva or Kṛṣṇa, it doesn't matter, but if you would have done something that would have spread the Hindu conception of... But you are not doing there anything. Why do you call yourself jagad-guru?" (Hindi) "A jackal is the king in the forest." And they do not go outside. Even Gaṅgeśvarānanda went; he came back disappointed. What they will do? Cinmayananda goes so many times. What does he do? (Hindi) (break) He is so big. What does he have? What he has done? This thing going on. Phalena paricīyate. One has to be studied by the result, not by talking. It is not that Caitanya Mahāprabhu entrusted the subject of preaching only unto me. Why they do not go, the gosvāmīs, swamis, big, big sannyāsīs, and stalwart? Why they are rotting within this area?
Indian man (2): They know only how to criticize for nothing.
Prabhupāda: No, what is the meaning of that criticize? First of all you come to the stage.
Morning Walk -- September 13, 1975, Vrndavana:
Brahmānanda: The Christians, they have a concept of sin. So when Vivekānanda went to America he was telling them, "No, you forget this concept. Whatever you do, it's all right because you are God." They were surprised.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: That's why they liked him.
Prabhupāda: No, no. They did not like. The Christian priests did not like him. They condemned him, "Oh, you are come from India, and you are speaking nonsense, this?" In those hundred years the Christian priests were conscious: "But how is this? From India he has come and he's talking like nonsense?" They questioned in Chicago speech.
Dhṛṣṭaketu: He's just fanning the fires of atheism.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- September 15, 1975, Vrndavana:
Prabhupāda: ...Brahmānanda explain. Trying for sense gratification. They do not know it, that what is the purpose of life.
Brahmānanda: That is their ignorance.
Prabhupāda: So our mission is to eradicate this ignorance, that they are living in a wrong conception of life. That is the point. The human society is making so-called progress under wrong conception of life. What is the answer? Therefore they have been described as mūḍha because they are living in a wrong conception, animal life. Wherefrom you have come?
Vāsughoṣa: Kathmandu.
Morning Walk -- September 29, 1975, Ahmedabad:
Indian man (1): What is alternative? What do you do when...
Prabhupāda: No, no, alternative, that alternative will not correct. That is the defect of Gandhi's movement. He is supposed to be reading Bhagavad-gītā, but he has never said, recommended, Kṛṣṇa worship. That is the defect of his education. Rather, he denied the existence of Kṛṣṇa. "I don't believe if any person as Kṛṣṇa ever lived." This is his concept. Gandhi has written in his life that while his father was dying he was enjoying sex with his wife. You know that?
Indian man (2): Gandhiji?
Prabhupāda: Yes, he has written it.
Morning Walk -- October 4, 1975, Mauritius:
Prabhupāda: (laughs) Yes. Did you understand the words, "The blind leading the blind"? Do you agree? (break) ...culture, the basic principle is mistaken, bodily concept of life. How it can be perfect? (break) ... world's present so-called culture based on misconception. Therefore it cannot be perfect. Whatever they are doing, it is failure.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Can't satisfy anyone. Now people are under the conception that culture means that you can satisfy anything you like, any desire. Therefore there is birth control and so many things. So they are thinking that "If we can satisfy all of our desires, it is very nice culture."
Prabhupāda: But where is satisfaction?
Brahmānanda: They think that unhappiness comes from repression of one's desires.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Yes. They think that actually that we're suffering from so many desires, that we must be very poor creatures because we become devotees.
Prabhupāda: So why so many desires? Because one desire is not complete, therefore you desire next. Therefore the process of desiring is defective, and our process is to purify the desires, not to remain in the imperfect platform of desiring, but whatever desire you have got, just purify it. Then it will be satisfied. So desire produced by bodily concept of life will never be satisfied. Therefore some of them are trying to become desireless, the impersonalists. Nirvāṇa.
Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:
Prabhupāda: They were formerly Hindus. All Muslims were Hindus formerly.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: They have an Islamic propagation center here, and I went there. I was walking by one day. They invited me in. So they began to blaspheme this and that. So I asked them, "What is your conception of God?" He said, "God is beyond conception." So I told him that "Therefore you cannot say that Kṛṣṇa is God and you cannot say that Kṛṣṇa is not God, because you don't know what God is."
Prabhupāda: Then what did he say?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: He couldn't reply.
Prabhupāda: Yes. Because you have no conception of God, how can you deny or accept? Remain fool, that's all. That is the difficulty. When you ask them, whole world, "What is the conception of God?" they'll not be able to answer. Still, they will say there is no God. This is the foolishness going on all over the world. Actually they are not concerned with God. They accept the idea of God or so-called God for their material facilities. "O God, give us our daily bread. That's all. If You supply daily bread, then I accept You. Otherwise I reject You." This is their... When there is a war, Churchill will ask them to go, victory, "V": "Go and pray to God." God is order-supplier. And when they declare war, they do not consult God. When there is reverse condition they go to it. This is going on, that God means order-supplier.
Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: This is, er... This is one park, Śrīla Prabhupāda. There is less wind here than on the beach.
Prabhupāda: No, we can go to the beach. What is that? If it is closed... (break) (Out of car:) The Indians are also coming to that point. The beginning is the rascal Vivekananda. He says, "Where you are searching God? Don't you see so many gods are loitering in the street, poor? Better you serve them. Why do you go to the temple?" This is their propaganda. That means no conception of God. The Ārya-samājīs also, they say, "There is no God in the temple." So in India the Jains, they also say, "There is no God." The Buddhists, they also say, "There is no God." The Christians, they have got very vague idea. So where is God? No God. It is only we are crying, "Here is God." Otherwise, whole world, they are trying to banish God, the Kaṁsa's policy, "Kill God," whole world, the Communists, total. This is our position. Is it wet?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Very, very slightly. Not much. (break)
Prabhupāda: ...is interested in God throughout the whole world, cent percent. We are simply canvassing, "Here is God. Take to God." This is our position. And still, some of you are cooperating with me. That is good fortune. Otherwise nobody is interested in God, nobody. They have no idea of God. They are not interested in God. Still, we are predominant, or people know us as Hare Kṛṣṇa people. This is our good luck. Nobody... My Guru Mahārāja used to say, "There is no scarcity of anything in this world. Only scarcity is Kṛṣṇa consciousness." He used to say like that.
Morning Walk -- October 7, 1975, Durban:
Devotee (2): I asked one lady, she said, "God wants to test your faith that... Ultimately He has no form, but He wants to test your faith to see if you..."
Prabhupāda: No, how He'll test? He has no head. How He'll test? Unless one has got head, how he can act with brain? Where you get this idea that one has no head, still he has got brain? Where you get this idea? Hm? The brain substance is within the head. This is our experience. So where do you get this idea that He has no head and still He has got brain? Hm? What is the answer?
Harikeśa: They will say that God is man's conception.
Prabhupāda: That means... You say directly, "There is no God. It is a false conception only." You say directly. That is understandable. But why do you say all these nonsense, that "God is there, but He has no head, He has no tail, He has no hands, He has no...?" What is this? Tell directly that "There is no God." The Buddhists say, "There is no God." That is understandable. Why do you cheat? The Christian also believe like that?
Harikeśa: Nowadays they do.
Prabhupāda: Oh. What do they?
Harikeśa: When we went to Hyderabad we spoke to the Archbishop, and Tamāla Kṛṣṇa Goswami asked him, "What is God?" And he said, "Well, nowadays there are so many theories as to what is God."
Prabhupāda: Theories.
Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:
Prabhupāda: That is the beginning of Bhagavad-gītā, scientific reality. Therefore I raised that question. But nobody could reply properly. They thought it a kind of Hindu conception. No. That is not Hindu conception. That is the basic principle of living condition. We are changing body, and there are so many varieties of body. We may enter in any one of them after death. That is the real problem. Prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ (BG 3.27). Nature's work is going on. This body is a machine. This machine, just like a car, has been offered to us by material nature, by the order of God, Kṛṣṇa. And we are moving, transmigration. So the real purpose of life is to stop this migration, transmigration, perpetually from one body to another, one body to another, and revive our original, spiritual position so that we can live eternally, blissful life of knowledge. That is the aim of life. The whole Vedic conception is based on this principle.
Prof. Olivier: How do you...? This...your concept of reincarnation, how do you reconcile reincarnation with this attempt to...
Prabhupāda: So long you'll have desire for material...
Prof. Olivier: This is what is normally in the Hindu religion, you know, which it is not so, of course, in the Christian religion.
Prabhupāda: It is not the question of religion. This is the, I mean to say, our position, real position. Religion develops. Religion is a kind of faith. That develops according to time, circumstances, people. But reality is this, that we are spirit soul. We are now conditioned by the laws of material nature, and we are carried away by the laws of material nature and transmigrating from one body to another, sometimes happy, sometimes distressed, or sometimes heavenly planet, sometimes lower planet. This is going on.
Room Conversation with Professor Olivier -- October 10, 1975, Durban:
Prabhupāda: So in the Bhagavad-gītā, everything is explained very scientifically, not, I mean to say, a sentimental explanation, no. Logically, scientifically.
Prof. Olivier: The problem as I see it, of course, is how to get modern man to make this study in depth that is contained or outlined in this book. Especially when you are caught up in an educational system that denies a place to this very concept or even the philosophy of it, it's...
Prabhupāda: The modern education, they do not accept soul?
Prof. Olivier: Part of it in theory perhaps, and at the junior stage. But as they...as we advance, there is either a complete neutrality or a...just a simple rejection of these truths.
Prabhupāda: They do not accept soul.
Prof. Olivier: They accept the soul, I think so, but they do not care to analyze what it means.
Prabhupāda: Oh. And it is without analyzing this, what is the education? First of all this should be analyzed, what is the distinction between a dead body and a living body. That must be analyzed. Otherwise what is the education? We are dealing with this body. The body is always dead. Just like a motorcar with driver and without driver. The car is always a lump of matter. Similarly, this body, with the soul and without the soul, is a lump of matter.
Morning Walk -- October 20, 1975, Johannesburg:
Prabhupāda: The same thing, that small animals praising the big animals, that's all. At least they say something about God. They are not zero, but they have no clear conception of God.
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: But everyone is thinking that their religion is the best. Even the Christian may be ignorant, even the Jew may be ignorant, anyone—doesn't matter—they're thinking that theirs is the best.
Prabhupāda: That is the proof that everyone is fool. Andhā yathāndhair upanīyamānāḥ (SB 7.5.31). First of all... Therefore we have to understand from Bhāgavata that what is real religion. Real religion means love of Godhead. So instead of love of Godhead, the love of doghead is increasing. So where is religion? Everybody should keep a dog and serve him, and where is God?
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: Well, they think that God is in the other world, so that in this world we can serve our wife and family, and when we go to the other world we'll serve God.
Prabhupāda: Then God is separated from this world. How much imperfect knowledge it is. God has created this world, and He has nothing to do with. Just see. They say God created this world, but He has nothing to do with it.
Room Conversation -- October 21, 1975, Johannesburg:
Prabhupāda: What scripture you are... Bible?
Guest: Well, the Bible. But we only know the Bible as we've been told it, and it's been told to us by unrealized men, and we ended up being virtually atheistically inclined, until that led to...
Prabhupāda: So in Bible what is the conception of God?
Guest: It's very unclear.
Prabhupāda: That I was speaking. In every religion...
Woman: To identify with it.
Prabhupāda: There is no clear conception.
Guest: That's right. And I think this is the reason that leads you away. We've been led away from the Bible because of that. There is nothing clear, and everybody who has read it to us has read it to us in a different way. But I would say that the finest book we have read is Bhagavad-gītā. There's no question. (end)
Morning Walk -- October 25, 1975, Mauritius:
Harikeśa: By chemically changing the genes in the living being we can, before conception, make a superior...
Prabhupāda: You can... First of all you be beaten with shoes. That's all. Then you can.
Harikeśa: No, we've actually done it. We've changed some genes and made some people better. By experimentation we can make people...
Prabhupāda: And your big, big cities are full with hippies. You cannot induce them to give up their LSD, and you are making better men. Better men is going to become worse. Just see how cheating.
Harikeśa: Oh, you mean once we make the better men they'll just degrade again.
Prabhupāda: Simply bogus propaganda. (break)
Puṣṭa Kṛṣṇa: ...that their educational system has failed. Therefore they...
Prabhupāda: Yes. They should close the universities and chant Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Morning Walk -- October 26, 1975, Mauritius:
Prabhupāda: That is in no scripture excepting the Vedic scripture. Clear conception of God is there in the Vedic. Definition of God, clear conception of God, everything is there.
Brahmānanda: Their idea is that God is so great that you cannot see Him.
Prabhupāda: That's all right. You cannot see because you are worthless. But those who are worthful, those who have attained liberation, they can see. Just like it is stated in the Bhāgavata, apasyat puruṣam purnam. Apasyat: "He saw, Vyāsadeva." Huh... Bhakti-yogena manasi samyak pranihite amale apasyat (SB 1.7.4). When your heart will be completely cleared of all this material conception, then you can see. So long you are materially contaminated, it is not possible. That's a fact. But bhakti-yogena samyak pranihite amale. When the heart is cleansed, that is the process. Therefore we are insisting that "Let them hear Hare Kṛṣṇa." Ceto-darpana-marjanam (CC Antya 20.12). The heart will be cleansed. Then they will understand. All of a sudden, if you speak all this philosophy "Kṛṣṇa said," they will accept that "Why Kṛṣṇa? Kṛṣṇa is an ordinary man.
Morning Walk -- October 26, 1975, Mauritius:
Brahmānanda: Well, they say, "Jehovah" and "Yaweḥ."
Prabhupāda: Not fixed up. The Māyāvāda... If you have no fixed name of God, then why don't you chant Kṛṣṇa? What is the harm? But envious. Therefore paramo nirmatśaraṇaṁ (SB 1.1.2). One who has completely eradicated from the envious conception of life, they can take to this way. (Break) ...climate of this island is good.
Cyavana: It's pleasant.
Prabhupāda: (Break) ...right time. I don't think he had many followers.
Cyavana: Very few.
Prabhupāda: Only twelve, and out of them some proved infidel.
Cyavana: Yes.
Brahmānanda: One betrayed him.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
Morning Walk -- November 4, 1975, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Yes. That is God...
Dr. Patel: That is greatest āścārya, next to Dharmaraja's āścārya.
Prabhupāda: No, āścārya is death. One may not have this "I" conception, but he has to die. That is a fact. (break) What further arrangement is being made? Today a meeting?
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: At a quarter to twelve.
Prabhupāda: All right.
Gopāla Kṛṣṇa: Suraheja(?) is going to come also. (break)
Dr. Patel: (Hindi)
Prabhupāda: ...vimūḍha. Śoce tato vimukha-cetasān vimūḍhan.
Dr. Patel: That, some people have spoke, go-kharaḥ. I am not able to understand much about the whole śloka, so you know, the salile, buddhi, and what is that? The Sanskrit is little difficult to me.
Prabhupāda: You explain.
Morning Walk -- November 4, 1975, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: The same Ganges in Calcutta, and the same Ganges in Hardwar, but he will go to Hardwar to take bath so that he may think that "I have come to some holy place." The holy place is Ganges, but Calcutta is not holy place and Hardwar is holy. Yes. Bhauma idya-dhiḥ. Yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile. Actually Hardwar or Vṛndāvana, such places are meant to see great saintly persons, to take some knowledge from them. To take some knowledge from them, that is the purport of going to the holy place. But without consulting them, without seeing them, he simply dips into the water and he takes, "My pilgrimage is finished." Yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicit janeṣv abhijñeṣv. There are many saintly persons, very experienced. They will not go there. So eva go-kharaḥ. These are asses. This conception of life is go-kharaḥ, animal. Go means the cows and asses. This is the explanation of the verse. All religionists think. They go to Mecca, they go to Jerusalem—to the water. They are not eager, searching out that "Where there is some saintly person in this holy place?" No. They have no search out. They do not want to consult. Yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ (SB 10.84.13). And this is further explained by Prahlāda Mahārāja... What is that? Tato vimukha-cetasaḥ: "All these things happen when one is not Kṛṣṇa conscious." Tato vimukha cetasaḥ. Vimukha. "Eh! What is this Kṛṣṇa consciousness?" Tato vimukha... Śoce tato vimukha-cetasaḥ māyā sukhāya bharam udvahato vimūḍhan (SB 7.9.43).
Morning Walk -- November 10, 1975, Bombay:
Dr. Patel: Mahāmāyā duratyayā.
Prabhupāda: Yes. (aside:) Hare Kṛṣṇa. Jaya. (dog barking) No, no, no, don't. Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Indian man (1): Hare Kṛṣṇa.
Prabhupāda: Jaya. Jaya. (break)... concept of life means animals. So just see. In the whole world is going on, nationalism.
Dr. Patel: Bhramāyān sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā (BG 18.61).
Prabhupāda: Huh?
Dr. Patel: Bhramayan sarva-bhūtāni yantrārūḍhāni māyayā.
Prabhupāda: What is this nationalism? We said, there is no such thing as nationalism in the Vedic literature, no such thing.
Morning Walk -- November 16, 1975, Bombay:
Prabhupāda: Any animal, he knows that "I am ass." Dog knows, "I am dog." Similarly, if you know "I am Hindu," "I am Mussulman"— the same conception. What is the difference? If a dog thinks "I am dog," and if you think that you are Indian, then where is the difference? Simply by changing the name you become very big man? The conception is the same.
Indian man (3): That point is not clear.
Prabhupāda: It is clear. Just like two dogs. He is thinking, "I am dog of this quarter," and another dog is thinking, "I am this dog. Gow! Gow! Gow! Gow! Gow!" So what is that? Does that make any difference? Similarly, you are thinking, "Indian," he is thinking, "American." Fighting like dogs. Where is the difference between the dog and this conception?
Indian man (3): That point is right.
Prabhupāda: Yes.
| Page Title: | Conception (Conv. 1968 - 1975) |
| Compiler: | Mayapur |
| Created: | 21 of Sep, 2011 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=0, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=238, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 238 |